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l^VBLI5hlEP SY 
ELI ABLE PoVLTRY JOURNAL PVD 

QVINCY. ILLINOIS. V4A_ 







Copyright by the 

RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

Qnincy, Illinois 



PROFITABLE CULLING 

and 
SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



Complete Details Regarding the Latest Approved Methods for 
Culling, or the Selection of Layers- -Simple and Practical 
Instructions for Securing Permanent Improve- 
ment in Egg Production in Any Flock 



Compiled by 

HOMER W. JACKSON 

and 

GRANT M. CURTIS 



"In my opinion this matter of careful, systematic 
culling is the biggest dividend earner that now 
confronts the practical poultry keepers of this 
country." — Prof. H. R. Lewis. 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 



PRICE $1.50 



PUBLISHED BY 

RELIABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

OUINCY, ILLLNOIS, U. S. A. 



•■^Ar cl'h iS20 



INTRODUCTION 







NE of the most important advance steps in 
commercial poultry keeping in recent years, 
and one that promises to exercise a truly 
great influence upon the development and 
permanent upbuilding of the industry, is the 
more exact knowledge poultry keepers now have of 
the characters of individual fowls; also the extent to 
which these characters, whether good or bad, are directly 
transmissible to offspring. The disposition to look upon 
the individual bird as too small and unimportant a "unit" 
to receive separate attention is giving way to a demand 
that each individual of the flock shall measure up to 
definite standards in practical qualities. Progressive 
poultry keepers realize that they can well afford to take 
the necessary time to apply these standards to each fowl, 
no matter how many there may be, thus to know, instead 
of guess, what return each is capable of rendering for 
the feed and care bestowed upon it. 

This effort naturally centers chiefly upon the layers, 
among which there exist the widest differences in rela- 
tive productiveness. It has been demonstrated beyond 
question that practically every flock contains some hens 
that are either entirely nonproductive, or that vrill lay 
only a comparatively small number of eggs even under 
the most favorable conditions; also that there almost cer- 
tainly are in the same flock some hens whose egg pro- 
duction is quite high. The proportions in which good and 
poor producers will be found in a given flock are deter- 
mined by various factors, such as breeding, feeding, gen- 
eral care, etc., but in the great majority of instances the 
percentage of inferior producers is so high that, leaving 
all other measures out of the question, it has been found 
possible greatly to increase average production in any 
flock, simply by eliminating the "slacker hens". The 
possibilities of securing better average production from 
laying flocks in this way are fairly well understood by 
poultry keepers generally, though comparatively few 
realize how readily this may be achieved, or appreciate 
the vital importance of doing so at times like the present, 
when prices of feed are abnormally high. 

During 1917 and 1918 an extraordinary situation de- 
veloped. On the one hand, thousands of poultry .«peciali.<;ts 
sold off their flocks and retired permanently or tempo- 
rarily from the business because they found it impossible 
to continue except at a loss; and on the other hand, prac- 
tical poultn,' keepers in the same localities reported as 
great or greater net profits than those realized in former 
years. Careful study of this anomalous condition has 
shown that, while other influences may have been in- 
volved, the chief factor in determining in which class the 
individual poultry keeper found himself was THE AVER- 
AGE PRODUCTION OP HIS FOWLS. In other words, 
those who through modem methods of breeding and selec- 
tion were able to realize a fairly high average of pro- 
duction per fowl, made money; those whose average was 
low, lost heavily. 

There are numerous methods known to practical poul- 
try keepers by means of which average production may 
be increased. But in ease of application, and in prompt- 
ness and importance of results secured, CULLING, or 
the selection of laying fowls on the basis of external 
characters, has no equal. That this can be done — is being 
done by thousands of persons in all parts of the country — 
and with a high degree of accuracy, does not admit of 
any question. The evidence as given in the pages of this 



book should convince anyone who may yet be in doubt as 
to the utility of the method. 

Of even greater practical importance than the imme- 
diate increase in average production in the flock and re- 
duction in feed cost through the elimination of poor pro- 
ducers, is the opportunity which culling affords every 
poultry keeper for breeding to secure increased egg pro- 
duction by the simple and easily practiced method known 
as SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING. It has been demon- 
strated beyond question that heavy-laying ability is an 
inherited character and thus is capable of being trans- 
mitted to the hen's offspring. Unfortunately, systematic 
breeding for improvement along this line has only been 
possible in the past to those who were in position to adopt 
the use of trap nests — a certain but highly expensive 
practice that the average breeder cannot afford to .adopt. 

Now that the method of estimating the hen's laying 
ability by observing her external characters has been de- 
veloped to so high a degree of accuracy however, per- 
manent improvement in production through systematic 
breeding has been brought within the reach of every 
earnest poultry keeper. It is only necessary for him to go 
over his hens in the manner hereinafter to be described, 
readily to identify his be^t producers and set them aside 
for use as breeders the following year, thus limiting re- 
production in the flock to the best layers in it, accom- 
plishing by this simple and easily applied method much 
that the user of trap nests achieves only at vastly greater 
expense. Selective flock breeding DOES NOT take the 
place of pedigree breeding; let there be no misunder- 
standing on this point. But its superiority to the usual 
method of selecting breeding fowls where trap-nest 
records are not available is so great as to warrant the 
belief that its general adoption would practically revolu- 
tionize the poultry industry in this country. 

The selection of laying hens on the basis of external 
characters being so vitally important, and also being now 
a well-defined and fairly exact science, it obviously is 
highly desirable that all trustworthy information on the 
subject should be assembled in a permanent and readily 
available form, not only giving poultry keepers and 
students a reliable guide to the accurate and rapid cull- 
ing of fowls, but also enabling them to secure a well- 
balanced knowledge of the subject in all its phases. That, 
in brief, is the object of this book. The material used in 
compiling it has been collected from a variety of sources, 
full credit being given for same whe^rever possible. Only 
methods recommended and used by the best authorities 
are given, and these are presented in so complete detail 
that anyone should be able to apply them with entire 
success, without any other instructions. 

While it appears that some practical poultry keepers 
have known for years that there are certain characters 
distinguishing hens with reference to their productive 
ability (see Chapter I), it is chiefly through the painstak- 
ing work of the poultry departments of various state agri- 
cultural colleges and experiment stations that attention 
generally has been focused upon this important detail of 
practical poultry management, and that methods of selec- 
tion have been classified and their value thoroughly prov- 
ed. Not only have these college poultry departments taken 
the lead in the development of practical culling methods, 
but a number of them, such as Connecticut, Missouri, New 
Jersey, and New York (to mention only a few), by means 
(Continued on page 9.) 



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PLATE IV-PIGMENTATION INDICATING 2-4 WKS. OF LAYING PLATE VII-PIGMENTED BAND INDICATING A LONG REST 





PLATE V-PIGMENT INDICATING 4-6 WKS. OF LAYING PLATE VIII-PIGMENT COMING IN AFTER LAYING CEASES 

Reproduced from Photo* lumUhed by Cornell University. 




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PLATE IX— HEAD OF NONLAYING BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK 



PLATE X HEAD OF I A-llNT. RARRFO PLYMOUTH ROCK 





PLATE XI— HEAD OF NONLAYING WYANDOTTE 



PLATE XII— HEAD OF LAYING WYANDOTTE 




PLATE XIII-HEAD OF NONLAYING RHODE ISLAND RED PLATE XIV HEAD OF LAYING RHODE ISLAND RED 

Reproduced from Photos furnished by Comell University. 




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PLATE XV— FEET AND SHANKS OF NONLAYING HEN 

The shanks are pigmented like the beak ot the nonlayer 
shown in Plate III and they are plump and full, showing 
the presence of considerable fat under the skin. A hen whose 
shanks are round and yellow like these, has certainly been 
idle for many weeks, and if in this condition during the 
laying season or near the end of it, she probably has never 
been profitably productive. Photo from Cornell University. 



PLATE XVI— FEET AND SHANKS OF A GOOD LAYER 

The shanks are the last of the pigmented sections to 
lose their color as a result of production, requiring not 
less than eight weeks or more. The pigment goes out of 
the front of the shanks first, the back part next the hock 
joint, being the last to fade. In this heavy layer they were 
not only bleached out, leaving them white or pinkish, but 
they also are thin and flat. Photo from Cornell University. 





PLATE XVn- REAR VIEW OF BODY OF NONLAYING HEN 

Comparing this plate with Plate XVIII, the difference in 
abdominal capacity, in condition of skin, and in size and 
condition of vent, is clearly brought out. Photo from Cor- 
itell Univcrtity. 




PLATE XVIII— REAR VIEW OF A HEAVY-LAYING HEN 

Good spread of pelvic arch and wide span between arch 
and keel are indicated, also loose, pliable skin and large 
vent. Compare with the "slacker" hen shown in Plate XVII. 
Photo from Cornell University. 



INTRODUCTION (Concluded) 



(Continued from page 4.) 

of annual state-wide "culling campaigns" have spjead the 
information and demonstrated its practical value in a 
manner that has proved of almost incalculable benefit to 
poultry keepers. 

The compilers of this book have sought to avail 
themselves of every practical opportunity for getting the 
latest and most complete information on the subject. 
Both spent the better part of two weeks at Cornell Uni- 
versity (July, 1919), in attendance at the Second Annual 
Judging School, and in personal interviews with Pro- 
fessor Rice and his able assistants — recognized leaders 
in this field. Prior to this, the senior author spent sev- 
eral weeks at the New Jersey Experiment Station, where, 
through the cooperation of Professor Lewis and his assist- 
ants, Dr. Thompson and V. G. Aubry, he was able thor- 
oughly to investigate numerous special phases of the sub- 
ject. During this visit to New Jersey he also was fortunte 
in securing the helpful interview.? with Professor Lewis 
which are given in Chapters III and X; also the splendid 
set of photos showing different stages in the culling of 
fowls which are reproduced in Chapter III. 

The reader will note that expense has not been spared 



in illustrating this book. In addition to the series of 
photos received at New Jersey (mentioned in preceding 
paragraph) there are four pages of color plates (pages 
5 to 8) secured through the helpful cooperation of Dr. 0. 
B. Kent, of Cornell University; also, from the same 
source, the series of photos illustrating steps in culling 
high and low-producing Barred Plymouth Rocks, and a 
number of miscellaneous photos. The excellent photos 
reproduced in Chapter IV, showing the application of 
tests to high and low-producing R. I. Red hens, weie fur- 
nished by the Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station which 
has, from the start, taken a leading part in the develop- 
ment of practical culling methods. 

The material in Chapter XVIII, on Culling Demonstra- 
tions, was largely supplied by W. G. Krum, Extension 
Poultry.man at Cornell University. Special articles have 
been contributed by Dr. C. T. Patterson, ex-Director of the 
Missouri State Poultry Experiment Station, Professors L. 
S. Palmer and H. L. Kempster of the University of Mis- 
souri, and others. Numerous other station workers and 
expert poultrymen have contributed directly or indirectly 
to the contents of this book, or have assisted in its com- 
pilation, and to all of these the authors wish to express 
srrateful appreciation and thanks. 



Description of Color Plates 



The color plates on pages 5 to 8 inclusive, are presented to 
show the striking changes in pigmentation, color and condition of 
comb, etc., which are brought about by continued egg production. 
The way in which these changes are produced is fully explained 
in the various chapters of this book dealing with these particular 
subjects. The following brief description of the different plates 
however, is here given for convenient reference: 

PLATE I — The photograph from which this plate was repro- 
duced, was taken in September, at which time this hen was still 
laying heavily and her comb was full and bright red in color. While 
this hen naturally had a yellow beak and shanks, the pigment in 
these sections had entirely disappeared (as here shown) due to 
long continued production of eggs. She had not yet begun to molt. 
With proper management such hens should continue laying for 
nearly two months before molting. 

PLATE n — This nonlayer was photographed at about the same 
date as the one shown in Plate I, at which time she had already 
gone through the molt and her new coat of feathers was practically 
complete. Further proof that she had not been laying for a long 
time is found in the fact that her eye ring, ear lobe, beak, anfi 
shanks are all highly pigmented, and there also was some pigment 
in her feathers. 

PLATE III — This plate shows the head of a nonlaying White 
Leghorn, and illustrates quite clearly the yellow eye ring, ear lobe, 
and beak that are characteristic of the nonlayer. 

PLATE IV — This plate shows the gradual fading out of beak 
pigment as laying progresses. This hen had been laying long 
enough so that all pigment had disappeared from eye ring, ear 
lobe, and from the base of the beak, though the pigmented tip shows 
that she probably has been laying for only three or four weeks. 

PLATE V^The head of this hen shows a more advanced stage 
of laying than the one shown in Plate IV. The pigment has entirely 
faded from the lower mandible and there is only a little at the tip of 
upper one. This also will soon lose its yellow color if the hen con- 
tinues to lay. 

PLATE VI — This hen has been laying for a longer period than 
any of the fowls whose heads are represented in preceding plates — 
probably eight weeks or more— and as a result of this long period 
of production the pigment has entirely faded out of the beak. 

PLATE VII — The banded beak shown in this plate indicates 
that the hen, after laying heavily for a time during which her eye 
ring, ear lobe, and beak entirely faded out, stopped laying for a 
considerable period, during which the pigment came back into the 
ear lobes and most of the beak. Later she began laying again and 
the pigment a second time faded out of eye ring, ear lobe, and 
from the base of the beak. If she continues to lay a little longer 
this band will entirely disappear. 

PLATE VIII— This hen laid until the color entirely faded out 



of her beak. At some time after that she stopped for a rest, and 
the pigment came back into the eye ring, ear lobe, and the base of 
the beak, showing that she has taken a rest of probably a month. 

PLATE IX— This plate and the others on this page show heads 
of good and poor-laying Barred Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and 
Rhode Island Reds. The Plymouth Rock here represented has a 
completely pigmented beak as well as eye ring, showing that she 
has been idle for a long time. 

PLATE X— The Plymouth Rock hen in this picture has been 
laying long enough completely to fade out the pigment from the 
beak. The red of her face and comb also has a different shade. 

PLATE XI— This highly pigmented Wyandotte hen had not 
been laying for a considerable period prior to the time when the 
photo from which this reproduction is made, was taken. Note the 
yellowish red of comb and face also, as compared with Plate XII. 

PLATE XII — There is a complete absence of pigmentation in 
the head of this laying White Wyandotte. 

PLATE XIII— This nonlaying Rhode Island Red shows high 
pigmentation of beak though it is not so readily observed as in the 
case of the Wyandotte and Plymouth Rock heads shown in above 
plates, on account of the horn color in the upper mandible. 

PLATE XIV — The complete absence of pigmentation in the 
beak of this R. I. Red clearly shows her superiority to the one 
shown in Plate XIII, as an egg layer. After a long rest her beak 
will be just as yellow as that of the other. 

PLATE XV^All comments on preceding plates with reference 
to pigmentation in beak due to poor laying, apply with equal force 
to the shanks, though the pigment fades out in this section more 
slowly. A hen with yellow shanks like these is either a nonlayer 
or as been productive for a few weeks only. 

PLATE XVI— The shanks of the bird here illustrated are not 
only lacking in pigmentation but appear more shrunken than those 
in Plate XV, which is also characteristic of good layers. It takes 
two months or more of laying to take all the yelMw out of the 
shanks. 

PLATE XVII— This plate illustrates strikingly the difference in 
color of skin and in general condition of a nonlaying fowl as com- 
pared with a good layer such as the one shown in Plate XVIII. 
The skin carries a great deal more pigment, is comparatively hard 
and tight, and the abdomen generally is firmer and the space 
between the pelvic bones is more contracted. 

PLATE XVIII— In width and depth of abdomen (the latter 
being indicated by the high keel bone), in looseness of skin and 
flabbiness of abdomen, and in size and coloring of vent, this fowl 
meets all the requirements of a good layer as these are commonly 
understood, and presents a distinct contrast in all these characters 
to the nonlayer in Plate X\'II. 



CHAPTER I 



Development of Modern Culling Methods 

How the Science of Culling was Discovered and Developed - A Brief History of tiie Discovery of the Different Methods 
Employed in Selecting Hens of High or Low Productiveness Educational Value of Egg Laying Con- 
tests and their Influence upon the Development of the Poultry Industry 




ULLING, as the term is commonly used, refers 
to the examination of fowls and their class- 
ification as layers and nonlayers on the 
basis of external characters. The ability to 
do this with a good degree of accuracy has 
been developed as the result of the observations of several 
independent operators who, in comparatively recent years, 
have discovered a number of such characters that bear 
unmistakable evidence as to productivity, or the lack of it. 
Experienced observers however, are able to go much 
further than merely to learn whether the fowls are laying 
or not at the time they are examined. They also can 
determine, in the case of nonlayers, just how long they 
have been nonproductive, or whether they have ever laid 
at all; also whether they were good or poor producers 
during the laying period, whenever that may have been. 
Toward the end of the laying season they can estimate 
with surprising accuracy the exact number of eggs pro- 
duced, whether few or many, and can discriminate between 
the hens that laid well in winter and those that were 
only productive during the low-price season of the year. 
Furthermore, they can take the pullets before they have 
begun laying, or hens at the beginning of the laying 
period, and estimate with a good degree of accuracy how 
many eggs they will lay during the coming season. 

It would be difficult to overestimate the practical im- 
portance of this knowledge to the individual poultrj' 
keeper. While it is not claimed that estimates of produc- 
tion based on external characters are exact, the adoption 
of culling methods enables the poultry keeper, to a greater 
extent than ever before, to determine what production may 
be expected from his fowls during the ensuing sea.son, 
to eliminate nonproducers at practically any time, and 
toward the end of the season to pick out the hens that 
have made the best records, and that, therefore, are the 
ones he will want to keep for use in the breeding pen the 



next year. He thus is able gradually to eliminate the 
blood of poor producers from his flock, replacing these 
with fowls descended only from high producers, and 
therefore capable of greatly increased production and, 
in turn, of transmitting this character to their offspring. 

While the development of culling methods and their 
popular adoption has been the work of recent years, it is 
known that long before the present interest in culling 
methods had developed, observant poultry keepers in dif- 
ferent parts of the country had found that some external 
characters were associated with heavy production. For 
example. Dr. 0. B. Kent of Cornell University writes as 
follows in an article in the Journal of the American Asso- 
ciation of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Hus- 
bandry under date of May, 1916: 

"A study of some of the various periodicals shows that 
at least as early as 1876, a womnn contributor to the 
Cultivator and Country Gentleman recognized that late 
layers are late molters, and that late molters molt rapidly. 
This fact seems to have been rediscovered several times 
before Cornell Bulletin 258, 'The Molting of Fowls', was 
published. Until that bulletin was published, however, 
it seems to have been the general practice strongly to 
advise against using the late molters as breeders, even 
if they were late layers. 

"It has been known for some time that during pro- 
duction the yellow pigment goes out of the shanks, beak, 
ear lobes, plumage, and skin. The woman contributor 
before mentioned, in an article on page 615 of the Culti- 
vator and Country Gentleman for 1879, wi-ites as follows: 
'Towards fall there comes a change over the birds. Their 
plumage grows rusty, and the bright orange legs fade out 
as the season advances for the second molt. Especially 
is this true of persistent layers. Often and again have I 
been disappointed in my fine yellow-legged birds of early 
.■;pring for, as the season advances, and they pile the eggs 







FIG. 1— CAN YOU TELL WHICH ARE THE GOOD LAYERS AND VVHRH ARE THE SLACKER HENS? 
Two of the hens shown above were heavy layers producing over 200 eggs in their pullet year, and two did not lay enough eggs to pay 
for their feed. Detecting the nonlayers and removing them from the flock may mean all the difference between profit and loss on the 
year's operations. 



DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN CULLING METHODS 



II 



up, the legs gradually bleach out until they become, by 
August, a pale flesh or as generally termed, white. The 
bloom is washed off, and in a Leghorn is almost a certain 
indication of a good layer. In Leghorns, either Bro^vn 
or White, the whitest ear-lobed bird is apt to possess the 
palest colored legs — often a pale lemon that fades to 
fle-sh color. The deep orange tint will fade with egg pro- 
duction.' 

"The same idea has come out several times .since, and 
probably it came out much earlier." 

About 1905, Walter Hogan first published his system 
of estimating probable production by means of measure- 
ments of the pelvic arch and the span of pubic bones and 
keel, and Potter's "Don't Kill the Laying Hen" (relating 
to the same method) was issued. 

Among college and station workers, the first reference 
to external characters useful in estimating the value of 
fowls as layers, so far as we have been able to learn, was 
by Professor James E. Rice of 
Cornell, who contributed an article 
to the Farmers' Institute Report 
published by the New York Depart- 
ment of Agriculture in 1909, in 
which the following statement is 
made: 

"It was found in our molting ex- 
periments that the best laying hens 
as a rule were the ones to molt late. 
Hen No. 61 laid 213 eggs in ten 
months, and did not molt until the 
middle of November when she was 
neaily featherless." 

Circular No. 11 (1910) of the New- 
York Department of Agriculture, 
written by Professor Rice, contains 
the following reference to faded 
shank color as an evidence of produc- 
tiveness: "It is a well-known fact that the breeds 
having yellow shanks will have laid the color out of their 
shanks toward the close of the laying season." 

In Bulletin 37 of the N. Y. Dept. of Agriculture, pub- 
lished in 1912, as a result of further investigations. Pro- 
fessor Rice listed three factors in the selection of high- 
producing hens: 

"Highest Producers Molt Late. The first physical 
character and the most valuable of all in selecting hen.'; 
for breeders that are high producers is lateness in molt- 
ing. The hen that is born to lay a large number of eggs 
and is well fed and handled will generally follow the line 
of least resistance and continue to lay and thus fail to per- 
form the natural process of molting. This is because she 
has so much reserve power that she continues to lay, and 
as a result her feathers do not die and loosen. 

"High Producers Have Pale Shanks. Another import- 
ant factor in selecting high producers is the color of the 
shanks of the yellow-skinned breeds. If you were to exam- 
ine the high-producing hens in the early fall, you would 
see that their shanks are 'laid out', that is, pale in color. 
The hens that have had little to do during the summer 
except to loaf around and eat, usually have the finest 
kind of colored shanks and skin, whereas, the high-pro- 
ducing hens have laid out -most of the color. After they 
have rested a month or two, the color will come back. 

"High Producers are Heavy Eaters. Watch the hens 
and see them eat and observe how they act; it will help 



you to pick out the laying hens in the fall and winter. 
The hen that is the largest layer is generally the one that 
is eating the most food. She goes to roost late and gets 
up early." 

In Bulletin C.5 of the same Department, published in 
1914, Professor Rice adds two more characters: 

"The Width of the Pelvic Arch. Fowls in a laying 
condition may be said to be in a condition of pregnancy. 
This physical condition causes in most animals a soften- 
ing of certain ligaments and muscles which in a measure 
modifies their physical conformation. In the case of the 
fowl the arch of cartilagenous bones through which the 
egg is expelled, enlarges and softens during conditions of 
heavy laying, and hardens and contracts during periods of 
dormancy. This condition enables a person to determine 
at any given time, with considerable accuracy, the hens 
that are laying at that particular time from those that 
are not. In the case of large fowls the space between the 




FIG. 2-PEN OF HIGH EGG-PRODUCING U I 
This pen of ten S. C. R. I. Reds laid 1966 eggs in their pullet 
wi-re H.S. 21)2. 243, 207. 183. 150, 170, 177, 316. 2». This v 
Vineland Egg Laying and Breeding Contest in 19171918, 
iiicnt St.ition. 



REDS 
year. Individual records 
highest R. I. Red pen in the 
Courtesy of the New Jersey Experi- 



pelvic bones will be sufficient to place three fingers of 
average size. In the same fowl, in the dormant condition, 
the pelvic arch probably would not be more than one to 
two fingers wide. 

"Size of Abdomen and Crop. The size of the abdomen 
and crop, and the size, texture, and color of the comb 
indicate the condition of health and productivity of the 
fowl with fair degrees of accuracy. It may be said that, 
in general, a hen in a condition of high production may 
be e.xpected to have a deep abdomen, a full crop, and a 
large, soft, velvety, bright red comb for that particular 
variety. The size, texture, and color of the comb are an 
indication of physical vigor. Physical vigor generally is 
correlated with the active reproductive system of the 
fowl. 

"A pullet that is laying has a good appetite and there- 
fore, usually a full crop. The laying fowl has an oviduct 
that is many times larger than the same fowl will have 
during a period of dormancy — at least twenty times as 
large. The size of the oviduct and the fuller condition 
of the intestines in the case of the productive fowl enlarges 
the abdomen to such an extent that frequently one would 
find difficulty in recognizing pictures of the same fowl 
taken at different times of the year during different con- 
ditions of productivity and dormancy." 

The first station publication on the subject, of which 
we have knowledge, is a Press Bulletin issued by the 
Maine Experiment Station as a synopsis of Bulletin 232, 



12 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



on the "Histological Basis of the Different Shank Colors 
in the Domestic Fowl", and in which shank color is de- 
scribed as a reliable means of determining the productive- 
ness in fowls. This Maine Bulletin received a good deal 
of attention in the poultry press, and was the first step 
in arousing popular interest in the subject. The follow- 
ing paragraphs are from this bulletin: 




FIG. 3— PARTIAL VIEW OF POULTRY BUILDINGS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
The Poultry Department at Cornell has taken a leading part in the development of cull- 
ing methods and their practical demonstration. The large brick building contains offices, 
class rooms, laboratory, etc. The smaller buildings are devoted chiefly to (owls used in 
instructional work. The experimental pens and range for young stock are on a separate 
farm a mile or so distant. 



"It is a well-known fact to every poultryman and 
©very visitor to a poultry show, that different breeds of 
fowls have characteristically different colors of the skin. 
In the United States generally yellow-skinned birds are 
preferred over white-skinned ones for market purposes. 
As a consequence of this preference nearly all of the so- 
called American breeds such as, for example, Plymouth 
Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, etc., have a dis- 
tinct yellow color to the skin. Correlated with this gen- 
eral yellow skin color these same breeds of poultry have 
characteristic yellow shanks. This color of the shank is 
one to which a good deal of attention is given both by 
the judges in the show room and by the expert poultry- 
man in picking out stock for his pens. A clear, bright 
yellow leg is always preferred in these breeds by the 
show room judge. 

"The cause of the yellow skin color of birds is really 
a layer of colored fat which lies in and below the skin. 
This fat in the American and other yellow-skinned breeds 
is colored by a particular kind of yellow fatty pigment 
known as lipochrome pigment. Also probably this same 
coloring matter gives the yellow color to the yolk of the 
normally pigmented egg. 

"This last consideration is one which calls attention 
to the practical bearing of these results on .shank color. 
It is a well-established fact, both in cattle and in poultry, 
that when the food does not supply a sufficient amount of 
yellow coloring matter for the product, whether milk or 
eggs, the animal then draws on its own body fat for the 
further supply of this coloring matter. This results in a 
bleaching of the body fat of its yellow color while keeping 
up the color of the milk or the eggs. From this fact it re- 
sults that the general skin color, and pairticularly the 



shank color of a hen having naturally yellow shanks, is 
much bleached out after the hen has been laying heavily, 
and furthermore, the heavier the laying has been the 
greater will be the amount of bleaching observed. In con- 
sequence of this it is possible to go through a flock at the 
end of a laying year and pick out at once by the color of 
the shanks those birds which have been extremely heavy 
layers from those which have been 
drones. The drones will be the birds 
which at the end r^f the season have 
bright yellow legs, such as one is ac- 
customed to see in pullets which have 
not yet begun to lay. On the other 
hand, birds which have done a hard 
year's work and produced many eggs 
will have shanks completely white or 
nearly so. Examination at this sta- 
tion of many hundreds of birds whose 
trap-nest records are known, makes 
it possible to say positively that no 
bird which has been a high producer 
will have bright yellow legs at the 
end of the laying season. 'Two hun- 
dred egg' hens always have white 
legs at the end of their pullet year. 

"This point is one which may be 
of a great deal of value to the poul- 
tryman when he is culling his flock 
in the fall and deciding which of his 
pullets he will keep over to use as 
breeders the next year. If he has no 
trap-nest records the color of the 
him one of the best indications he 
the way in which these pullets have 



.shanks furnishes 

can have as to 

laid during their first year of life." 



Development of Pigmentation Tests at Storrs 

At the Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station the ques- 
tion of pigmentation and its connection with egg pro- 
duction has received special attention, and in 1915 Messrs. 
Blakeslee and Warner published an article in Science, 
entitled "Correlation Between Egg-Laying Activity and 
Yellow Pigment in the Domestic Fowl'', in which the 
first experimental data in this connection appear to 
have been presented. It is there state<l that: 

"In the Leghorns and the so-called American breeds, 
such as the Plymouth Rocks, yellow in the form of yellow 
fat is present in varying amounts in the legs and beak. 
In these breeds individual birds may undergo considerable 
change in the amount of the yellow pigment visible. The 
paling or yellowing of the legs has been attributed by 
poultrymen to various environmental factors. Of recent 
years some individual poultrymen however, have claimed 
that paling of the legs is due to heavy laying. 

"So far as the writers are aware, no published data 
are available which show in how far the leg color may be 
of value in selecting the laying hen, and such suggestions 
as have been made in this connection have confined 
themselves almost entirely to a consideration of the legs 
alone. The results tabulated in the present paper show 
conclusively, it is believed, that a close connection does in 
fact exist between the yellow pigmentation in a hen and 
her previous egg-laying activity, and that in Leghorns 
the color of the ear lobes is perhaps a better criterion of 
laying activity than either legs or beak, and is more 



DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN CULLING METHODS 



13 



readily recorded." (For the data mentioned in preceding 
quotation, see Chapter V.J 

An interesting incident in connection with the dis- 
covery of the influence of egg production upon pigmenta- 
tion, at least so far as it relates to the development of 
the method at the Storrs Agricultural College, is the 
following; 

Some years ago. Professor A. F. Blakeslee, a member 
of the Horticultural Department of that institution, in- 
spected the laying contest pens in company with Professor 
Kirkpatrick, the latter pointing out the good producers 
in the various pens, also the poor ones, using the actual 
records of production which he held in his hands. After 
having gone through a number of pens, Professor Blakes- 
lee said: "Now let us go over these same pens and see if 
I cannot tell you which are the good producers and which 
are the poor ones without the use of your records." They 
proceeded to do this and to Professor Kirkpatrick's sur- 
prise, Professor Blakeslee was able to pick out the good 
and poor layers with great accuracy. To the inquiry 
as to how he was able to do it, he replied: "As you 
pointed out the different fowls I noticed that the poor 
layers had yellow shanks and in some cases yellow beaks, 
whereas the heaviest producers had bleached-out legs and 
beaks." Professor Blakeslee's attention was naturally 
drawn to this detail as he had for years been engaged in 
a line of research work that involved close observation 
and comparison of colors and shades of color. Application 
of Professor Blakeslee's method by members of the Sta- 
tion Poultry Department gave similar results and showed 
quite clearly that pigmentation tests were capable of 
general application. 

Influence of Egg Laying Contests 

In Chapter II special attention .s called to the possi- 
bilities in the way of increasing the average production 
of fowls and the great practical importance of so doing. 
It is probable that one of the most important agencies 
in showing what can be done along this line and of awak- 
ening interest in advance methods of poultry keeping, has 
been the egg laying contests that have been conducted 
in different parts of the country. 

The first laying contest to be held in this country was 
in 1894-5, and was conducted by the National Stockman 
and Parmer. In this contest 224 pens were entered. 
Weekly reports were required from each contestant, and 



the value of the eggs laid was determined according to 
the current price of eggs in the Pittsburg market. 

The six highest pens were reported as follows: 

First pen — eight W. P. Rocks; average, 289 eggs. 
Value of eggs, $5.02 per hen. 

Second pen — eight cross-bred Leghorns; average, 283 
eggs. Value of eggs, $4.82 per hen. 

Third pen — eight W. P. Rocks; average, 280 eggs. 
Value of eggs, $4.00 per hen. 

Fourth pen — eight S. C. B. Leghorns; average, 277 
eggs each. Valu« of eggs, $4.64 per hen. 

Fifth pen — twenty-four S. C. B. Leghorns; average, 
277 eggs each. Value of eggs, $4.89 per hen. 

Sixth pen — twelve B. P. Rocks; average, 262 eggs 
each. Value of eggs, $4.24 per hen. 

The first of the annual contests held in this country 
was the "International", inaugurated in 1911. It was con- 
ducted jointly by the Philadelphia North American and the 
Storrs (Conn.) Station, and later by Storrs alone. The 
number has gradually increased since that date, until eight 
or more now are regularly conducted under state control 
in various sections of the country. 

Egg laying contests held under the management and 
control of state institutions have a special value, since they 
largely eliminate skepticism regarding the accuracy of the 
results claimed, which is apt to be aroused by private rec- 
ords. Knowing the character of the men in charge of these 
contests, no one seriously questions the general accuracy of 
their reports. 

Summary 

Experienced observers are able to learn numerous fa-cts 
in regard to production of hens by a careful study of their 
external characters. 

Estimates of production based on culling methods prop- 
erly applied, are accurate to a remarkable degree. 

A correlation between the molt and productiveness was 
observed as early as 1876. 

The loss of pigmentation, as a result of continued egg 
production, was noted in a newspaper article in 1879. 

Among government workers the first reference to the 
fact that late molters are the best layers, was in 1909; to 
less of pigmentation, in 1910; to pelvic arch test, in 1912. 

The first experiment station bulletin relating to loss 
of pigmentation as a result of egg production, was issued 
by the Maine Station in 1914. 

The first experimental data on pigmentation as a guide 
to culling were published by Storrs Exp. Station in 1915. 

The various egg laying contests conducted under state 
supervision have been of the greatest value in awakening 
interest in poultry keeping and in demonstrating what it 
is practicable to accomplish along this line. 




FIG. 4— BUILDINGS USED IN THE NATION.M, EGG L.WING CONTEST .\T CONNECTICUT .^GRiriTLTtT?.AL COLLEGE 



CHAPTER II 



Importance of High Average Egg Production and How Secured 

Capacity for High Egg Production a Common Inheritance in Fowls— Possibilities in the Way of Increased Average 
Production and How It May Be Brought About -Per cent of Egg Yield Required to Insure Profitable 
Production— Average Number of Eggs That Should Be Laid by Fowls of Different 
Breeds -Why Standard-bred Fowls Should Always be Kept 




I ROM a physiological point of view there appears 
to be scarcely any limit to the number of eggs 
that a hen can produce, aside from such as may 
be imposed by individual capacity for rapid 
assimilation of food and its transformation 
into the various compounds employed in the composition 
of the egg. The ovary of every maturing pullet contains 
several times as many ova as she will ever be able to elab- 
orate into fully formed eggs (see Chapter XVI) and the 
total number actually produced will be determined by the 
skill of the caretaker and the fowl's individual laying 
ability in each case. 

There is indisputable evidence in the reports from State 
Experiment Stations and laying contests conducted under 
government control in this and other countries, showing 
that the production of 200 eggs in the twelve months of 
the pullet-hen year is a comparatively common perform- 
ance in well-selected flocks; that many hens can and do 
lay well over 250 eggs in one year; and that some have 
even exceeded the 300-egg mark. 

While the chances for securing such "record" layers 
are greatly increased by breeding vrith that object in view, 
since high producers most frequently are descended from 
lines of heavy layers, they are by no means always of such 
known ancestry. On the contrary, a study of the winning 
pens at laying contests clearly establishes the fact that in 
many instances they owe their rank more to skillful selec- 
tion than to systematic breeding — thus proving that capa- 
city for high egg production is a more or less common in- 
heritance in fowls — at least among those belonging to 
what are commonly called the "utility breeds." It also is 
true, however, that in every flock, no matter how carefully 




FIG. .^A NEW JERSEY "MULTIPLE UNIT" LAVING HOUSE 
Type of laying house popular throughout the state of New Jersey and well adapted to 
use of family and commercial poultry keepers generally. 

bred, there is a larger or smaller proportion of hens that 
by no practical method of feeding or handling can be in- 
duced to produce eggs in profitable numbers. 



The practical significance of this is that every poultry 
keeper, regardless of breed kept (within the limits of the 
"utility" breeds), has two definite means of improving 
the production of his flock: 

(a) He can secure increased egg pro- 
duction by systematically breeding to that 
end. Breeding gradually improves the gen- 
eral level of flock production by raising the 
maximum reached by "record" layers, by in- 
creasing the proportions of high and medium 
producers, and by reducing the percentage 
of inferior layers. 

(b) In every flock the average of pro- 
duction can be raised at any time, simply 
by removing inferior layers. This is culling 
— the quick and simple way to keep produc- 
tion up to a reasonable percentage. Culling 
improves average production by removing 
the inferior producers as they develop, cuts 
down feeding expense, and increases profits. 

While the average annual production per hen in this 
country is not definitely known, the figures given in the 
United States census of 1910 indicate that it probably 
is in the neighborhood of 80 eggs. As will be shown 
later on in this chapter, that average is altogether un- 
necessarily low. Probably there is not a flock in this 
country in which the average per hen cannot be raised 
to a marked extent by proper culling. And speaking 
generally it MUST be raised if the production of table 
eggs is to remain a practical and efficient industry. 
Whatever may have been the case in the past, under 
present conditions a nation-wide average of 80 eggs per 
hen s-ihould not be tolerated. 

Causes of Low Average Production 

Leaving the matter of breeding 
out of consideration for the time 
being, there are a number of practical 
explanations for low production in 
the average flock. 

Lack of Interest. It ought to 
rciuire no argument to convince 
every poultry keeper of the import- 
ance of securing increased egg pro- 
duction so far as it is practicable for 
him to do so. The commercial poul- 
try keeper, especially, with his heavy 
feed bill and his relatively large in- 
vestment, and with his livelihood de- 
pending in whole or in part upon the 
net returns from his flock, should be 
quick to learn and apply every practical method for secur- 
ing increased egg yields. And yet, one of the chief reasons 
why average production falls so low, is lack of interest. 



IMPORTANCE OF HIGH AVERAGE EGG PRODUCTION AND HOW SECURED 



15 



Keeping Old Fowls. Keeping fowls that have outlived 
their ability to produce eggs in profitable numbers is a 
common cause of low flock averages. Included under 
this head are practically all hens over three years old. 
Where the plan of leg-banding each year's pullets is 
adopted, placing the bands on left and right legs on alter- 
nate years or using a different colored band each year, 
there is no danger of confusion on this point, and the old 
hens are readily identified and culled out at will. An 
exception must be noted here in the case of heavy layers, 
which should be retained for use in breeding pens as long 
as they keep in good condition and are reasonably pro- 
ductive, regardless of age. 

Malformed and Diseased Fowls. Almost every unculled 
flock contains some hens that are obviously incapable of 
laying eggs and may even be a source of danger to the 
rest, the owner keeping them, as a rule, simply because 
he dislikes the disagreeable job of disposing of them. 
Under this head come fowls that have crooked backs or 
are seriously lame; chronic sufferers from any disease; 
hens that are extremely poor, showing that they have some 
hidden disorder, or that are broken down behind (often 
an indication of an abdominal tumor), — in short that 
have any obvious defect. Hens so affected, even when 
apparently in good health, rarely are profitable layers. 
If they are fit for use on the table they should at once be 
disposed of for this purpose, and if not, they should be 
killed and burned or buried without delay, thus stopping 
what in many flocks amounts to an important financial 
loss, caused by wasted feed and labor. 

Late-Hatched Pullets. The laying year ends with the 
molting season, or along in September or October as a 
rule, regardless of when the pullets were hatched. A 
good first-year record is out of the question unless the 
pullets get an early start. Tho.'^e hatched so late that 
they do not reach full development and laying maturity 
until well along in winter do not have sufficient time in 
which to make a good record, no matter what their inher- 
ent productive capacity may be. 

Feeding and Care. Improper rations, insufficient 
feeding, uncomfortable or unsanitary houses all operate 
directly against securing good egg yields. The person 
who sets out to make the production of eggs a paying 
occupation should appreciate the importance of giving the 
fowls a chance. The conditions essential to good pro- 
duction are neither numerous nor hard to meet. Any 
one who is willing to be guided by the experience of 
others will find it a simple matter to get results, and of 
the most profitable sort. 

Relation of Average Production to Profits 

The direct relation of average production to net profits 
and the imperative necessity for a higher average egg 
yield for poultry flocks generally, is strikingly illustrated 
in Bulletin No. 329 of the New Jersey Experiment Station 
which gives the result of a survey of 150 egg farms in 
that state during 191.5-1916. In this bulletin it is clearly 
shown that during those years "poultrymen did not begin 
to make money until their hens produced 90 or more eggs 
per year." Above this point they began to make good 
profits. Those who were able to reach an average of 148 
eggs per year received a labor income of $1,823. The 
highest producing flock included in the survey made an 
average of 186% eggs per hen. There were 350 hens in 
this flock, of which 300 were pullets, and the receipts for 
eggs sold averaged $5.83 per hen. The owner also sold 



baby chicks to the value of $168.00, 150 yearling hens for 
.$90.00, and 600 cockerels for $200. With due allowance 
for increase in the flock, the total returns for the year 
amounted to $3,121, and deducting the cost of feed 
($1,160), the income was $1,603. 

('ompare these results with the meager returns realized 
by those who accepted the low average of around 60 eggs 
per hen (see followdng table) for the true explanation of 
the wide differences of opinion that exist in certain quar- 
ters in regard to the practical possibilities for profit in 
commercial poultry keeping. It is true that it is not 
proper to consider the difference between feed cost and 
egg receipts as net profit. Labor, interest on investment, 
depreciation in value of birds, and other items enter into 
the cost of production. To get a clear idea of the relation 
that different averages of production bear to net profits, 
the following table is given, condensed from the bulletin 
just referred to: 

Relation of Production to Receipts on 150 Poultry Farms 
in New Jersey 

Total Receipts Above 

Eggs Per Hen Receipts Expenses 

Per Farm Per Bird Per Farm Per Bird 

60 or less $1,144 $2.20 $95 $0.17 

61 to 80 1,733 2.50 286 .42 

81 to 100 2,050 3.10 629 .94 

101 to 120 3,009 3.70 1,127 1.43 

121 to 140 3,415 4.60 1,578 2.15 

141 and over 4,540 5.50 2,232 2.70 



$2,818 $3.82 $1,092 $1.48 

The above table shows in the clearest manner the 



Fercent of Production- 
Percent of Peceipts- 



14 



12 



10 




I I I I I M I I I I 



No« b<c Jan Feb fUr Apr Hay J«M July Au} 5«pl Oct 

rionths 



FIG. 6— AVERAGE MONTHLY PRODUCTION AND RECEIPTS ON 
150 N. J. POULTRY FARMS 
This illustration shows in graphic manner the unequal distri- 
bution of production and receipts through the year, on the average 
poultry farm. More attention paid to culling would bring fall and 
winter production and receipts more nearly on a level with those 
of summer. Reproduced from Bui. 329, of the N. J. Exp. Station. 



16 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



practical importance of securing high egg yields. Not 
until an average production of over 100 eggs per hen was 
secured did the receipts represent a fair return on labor. 

What Egg Yield Can Reasonably Be Expected 

Accepting as reliable the results secured at various 
egg laying contests, it would seem that so far as general 
averages are concerned a practical, though no doubt only 
a temporary limit, has been reached with reference to 
average production. That is, while there is more or less 
fluctuation in the high records made by individuals and 
flocks every year, average production for all the fowls 
in the contests is not increasing, at least to a noticeable 
extent. This is illustrated by the following data from 
the records of the past five years at the International 
(Storrs) Laying Contest. 

Annual Production Per Hen for Five Years at Storrs 
Laying Contest 
P. Rock Wnd's R. I. Red L'horns Ave. 



3rd Contest 


140 


153 


136 


155% 


145 


4th Contest 


146 


165 


155 


158 


152 


5th Contest 


160 


169.6 


158.7 


165 


162 


6th Contest 


161 


165 


158 


167 


163 


7th contest 


159 


162 


148 


162 


154 



We do not have before us the records for the first and 
second years of the contest, but in connection with the 



»5.60 


p. Tot 


1.1 Receipts per Bird 


/ 


5.20 


— 


1 


/ 


4.S0 


— 


/ 




4 40 


— 


/ 




400 


— 


/ 




3.60 


— 


/ 




3.E0 


— 


/ 




IjdO 


i 


/ 




e.4o 


:/ 






■ 
t 


^1 


> ■ I 


J 


61 

n. is 


1 OO I'f 1 40 






Eggs per Hea 





FIG. 7_GRAPH SHOWING RELATION OF EGG \1ELD PER HEN 
TO TOTAL RECEIPTS 
Note what an average increase of 20 eggs or more per hen 
means in increasing receipts. Systematic culling will make this 
difference in averages in almost any flock. Reproduced from Bui. 
329, of the N. J. Exp. Station. 



third contest the statement is made that the average for 
that year is "somewhat lower than in preceding con- 
tests", which is believed to be due to the fact that the 
pens for the first two years were limited to only five 
fowls each, while in subsequent years the number was 
ten. The winter during the third contest was exception- 
ally severe, as was also the case in the seventh. 

Production Standards for Poultry 

The Monthly and Yearly Rate of Egg Production that 

Should be Realized in Well-Bred Plymouth Rock, 

Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, and Leghorn Flocks 

By MARCUS A. CANFIELD, Jr 

EDITORIAL NOTE— If records secured at the various 
^%^ laying contests are taken as establishing the 
limits of "reasonable expectation" in regard to the pro- 
ductiveness of fowls of the different popular breeds when 
kept under favorable conditions, these may be made to 
serve as standards of production by which poultry keepers 
generally can measure the results secured in their own 
flocks, and thus determine Whether their fowls are fairly 
measuring up to what may be expected of them. An effort 
to establish production standards for several popular 
breeds is described in the following article which is con- 
densed from an unpublished thesis entitled "The Elabor- 
ation of Production Standards for Poultry", by Marcus A. 
Canfield, Jr., New Jersey College of Agriculture. It is 
not to be supposed that fowls kept in the large flocks 
common on farms and commercial poultry plants gener- 
ally, will reach the higih average of production attained 
by the five or ten hens that constitute the average contest 
pen, though the advantage possessed by extremely small 
flocks is not as great as is generally believed. In point 
of fact, contest averages are regularly being equaled and 
even exceeded by numerous commercial poultry keepers 
having well-bred, carefully selected flocks. 

THE years 1917 and 1918 proved an extremely diffi- 
cult period for New Jersey poultry keepers, and 
many found that at the profit per hen which they were 
realizing, they were not making even a living wage. In 
contrast with these however, there were others whose 
returns were almost or quite equal to those of more favor- 
able years. 

To one studying the situation the question arises: — 
Why are not all producers in the same losing rut? Why 
are some men still highly optimistic and realizing a good 
profit? The answer is:— Efficiency. The latter have 
cut out the wastage in the cost of production. They have 
made an intensive study of cost-accounting factors. Fur- 
thermore they know their stock, and it is good. They 
have by various means eliminated the greatest source of 
loss to the average poultry raiser— the nonlaying hen— 
or, in other words, the loafer. There are many such hens 
in all ungraded flocks, and not only do they bring no 
revenue whatsoever, but they counterbalance the profits 
gained from high-producing hens. Hundreds of thousands 
of "boarder" hens are being fed today in this country. 
The simple elimination of such would be the means of 
keeping hundreds of discouraged men in the business,— 
of enabling them to realize a profit instead of a loss. A 
survey of 150 White Leghorn farms in this state last 
summer indicates that an average production of 100 eggs 
per hen must be accepted as the minimum (under New 
Jersey conditions) of profitable egg production. 

The next question that arises is what is it possible or 
practical to do to increase the average so as to secure a 



IMPORTANCE OF HIGH AVERAGE EGG PRODUCTION AND HOW SECURED 



17 



reasonable profit: In other words, what should well-bred 
and properly fed hens normally accomplish in the way of 
average egg production? That is the purpose of this 
investigation, — to determine standards of production to 
which the farmer can compare the accomplishments of his 
flock as individuals, with a view to eliminating all those 
below the standard, and striving to attain a production 
as much above it as possible, for this standard is to be an 
average of production which poultry keepers should bo 
able to attain under favorable conditions, not a maximum. 
For many years the Experiment Stations have realized 
the importance of standardizing egg laying, and a number 
have been slowly working toward that end through the 
medium of egg laying contests. Some of the best known 
and most representative of these contests are the Connect- 
icut Contest at Storrs; the Philadelphia North American 
Contest at Newark, Delaware; the Missouri Contest, and 
the Vineland (New Jersey) Contest. The records of these 
different contests, it would seem, should afford sufficient 
data on which to base a careful analysis of the average 
per cent of egg production of each of the popular breeds 
on both a weekly and a monthly basis, and to standardize 
the latter. Such a standardization should enable one to 
see just what a flock of a certain size and breeding should 
normally be putting into the egg crate during any month 
in the year. 

In this determination the following egg laying con- 
test.'i were considered: — Weekly reports of the Philadel- 
phia North American, Sixth Storrs, and Vineland; 
monthly reports of Third and Fourth Storrs, Missouri, 
and Vineland. In obtaining the percentages of production, 
the following method was pursued. The number of pens 
of each breed was found in each contest; then the possible 
production within a certain period was determined. The 
total actual production, as found by adding together the 
productions of all the pens, divided by the possible pro- 
duction gives the per cent production for the breed. For 
example, in the Vineland Contest, there are 54 pens of 
S. C. White Leghorns, or 540 birds. In the month of 
March, 1917, each hen had a possibility of laying 31 eggs 
or 16,740 eggs for the breed. The actual production was 
found to be 10,830, or 64.7 per cent. 



A similar operation was carried out with each breed 
in each contest, on both a weekly and a monthly basis, 
and results tabulated. These tables are here omitted for 
lack of space, but a study of them is found to reveal three 
important facts: 

1st: — The Leghorns for five months are far higher in 
per cent of production than any of the other breeds; dur- 
ing the rest of the year they are considerably lower. 

2nd: — Quick and complete molting is characteristic of 
the Leghorns. 

3rd: — There is little to choose among any of these 
breeds, as regards percentages of total production. 

From the monthly production records a graph was 
prepared (see Fig 12) showing the average monthly pro- 
duction of each breed in all the contests. The graph, 
shovm in Fig 49, illustrates the average monthly produc- 
tion of Wyandottes compared with that of the Leghorns. 
From this can be seen the slight superiority of the Leghorn 
over the heavy breeds in the amount of production. How- 
ever, as is clearly indicated by this graph, the variation be- 
tween high and low points of production is only 44 per cent 
in the heavy breeds while in the Leghorns the correspond- 
ing difference is 57 per cent, thus showing that Rocks, 
Wyandottes, and Reds are, on the whole, steadier producers 
throughout the year than are Leghorns. Collecting the 
data herein referred to and putting it in tabulated form 
we arrive at the following as our Standards of Produc- 
tion for the breeds considered: 

Standards of Monthly Production For Different Breeds 

Rock Wyan. Red L'gTi'n 

November 12.6 28.4 16.2 24.8 

December 21.8 35.1 26.1 24.2 

January 30.5 38.6 34.4 25.1 

February 47.1 49.2 47.7 41.0 

March 63.5 60.2 61.8 61.7 

April 64.2 60.4 64.8 68.7 

May 62.1 59.2 56.5 69.3 

June 55.4 52.9 50.7 67.4 

July 48.7 46.4 45.7 60.6 

August 43.7 45.5 43.2 54.2 

September 37.0 39.9 39.7 33.1 

October 25.0 30.2 30.8 12.8 




FIG. 8— A COMMEKCl.^L POULTRY PLANT IX CALIFORNIA. 
Commercial poultry keeping now is on a safer and more profitab le basis than ever before, because of the more exact knowledge oi the 
subject and the better methods generally practiced. 



18 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



Setting this in terms of yearly production, the mark 
which the poultryman should endeavor to have his hens 
reach is: — 

Plymouth Rock 155 eggs 

Wyandotte 163 eggs 

Rhode Island Red 157 eggs 

White Leghorn 165 eggs 

Now by way of illustration we vdsh to bring in some 
results secured in an intensely practical investigation 
conducted in the summer of 1917, under the New Jersey 
Experiment Station. This work was thoroughly to survey 
150 typical White Leghorn farms of the State. Prom 
some of the figures obtained in that survey, a table (pre- 
sented herewith) was compiled, showing the average 
monthly production on thirty-six of these farms as com- 
pared with the production of the White Leghorns obtained 
in the Vineland contest. 

Avg. Per Cent Avg. Per Cent 

Production, 36 N. J. Production Leg- 
Leghorn Farms horns at Vineland 
Contest 

November 10.0 24.8 

December 13.0 24.2 

January 19.7 25.1 

February 28.2 41.0 

Marcti 38.9 61.7 

April 44.2 • 68.7 

May 41.5 69.3 

June 35.3 67.4 

July 29.4 60.6 

August 22.9 54.2 

September 15.4 33.1 

October 9.6 12.8 

Fig. 130 is a graphic representation of this table. To- 
gether they point out clearly and forcefully the discrepan- 
cy between the production actually obtained in this state 
on commercial egg farms, and the production which can 
and should be secured. 

Practical Value of Culling 

More than one factor is involved in securing maximum 
production in the laying flock, as has already been 
shown. It would be difficult however, to exaggerate the 
practical importance of culling as one means to this end. 
Methods of breeding and feeding for increased egg pro- 
duction will be considered in their proper place, but it is 
of the first importance that every person engaged in the 
production of table eggs shall realize the advantage 
which is placed in his hands by the discovery of simple, 
easily understood and applied metihods of selection, by 
means of which he may AT ONCE change his flock from 
a low or no-profit basis to a truly paying one. The prac- 
tical advantages of culling are set forth in a most im- 
pressive manner in the following article. 

Importance of Culling 

The Practical Advantages of Culling as a Means of 
Securing Increased Profit from the Laying Flock 

By PROF. JAMES E. RICE 

Our slogan should be to produce more eggs from the 
same number of hens, or as many eggs from less hens, 
with profit. This can be accomplished by introducing 
more efficient methods of production, buying, and mar- 
keting. Much can be done in each of these directions to 



enable the poultry producer to meet present critical con- 
ditions, without financial loss, while doing his part in 
furnishing the world's supply of food. 

The one single factor of greatest importance in reduc- 
ing the cost of production is to improve the productive 
quality of stock. This may be accomplished in two ways 
— first, by eliminating the unprofitable individuals, and 
second, by using the best fowls for breeding. Each is 
essential if we are to make the greatest improvement. 

Fowls differ in the widest extremes in their laying 
capacity. Until recently it has not been possible accur- 
ately and cheaply to distinguish the more productive 
from the less productive fowls. With our present 
knowledge of hov; to pick out the laying from the non- 
laying hens, and the highest from the lowest producers, 
it is no longer necessary for poultrymen to breed without 
regard to laying quality, or to keep unprofitable fowls 
from year to year. 

It is not only poor business, but is an economic and 
national crime to use valuable feed to support, at a loss, 
unproductive fowls. Our present knowledge of the ways 
in which climatic conditions, time of batching, and habits 
of laying influence production, enables us to estimate 
with considerable accuracy the proportion of fowls that 
under normal conditions of care will cease and commence 
to lay at different times of the year. It is certain that in 
every flock many unproductive fowls are carried for 
many months as unprofitable boarders. By culling these 
out and selling them when they cease to lay for the year, 
we accomplish a number of profit^making things. 

First, we release a large amount of valuable feed for 
productive purposes. 

Second, we place upon the market immediately an 
important supply of poultry meat. 

Third, we keep only the profit makers, thus increasing 
the average production and profit per fowl retained. 

Fourth, we decrease the amount of labor required by 
reducing the size of the flock earlier in the year, instead 
of waiting until late in the fall. 

Fifth, we .secure a higher price for the culled stock 
by avoiding the overstocked late-fall markets. 

Sixth, we secure more efficient production, because of 
less crowded conditions ;ind better care given to the stock 
that is retained. 

Seventh, we get more satisfaction because of the 
intellectual incentive which always comes with larger 
profits and greater knowledge. 

The only solution to the poultryman's problem of 
meeting the present situation is to secure a satisfactory 
egg yield, in order to reap the advantage of high egg 
prices. To the one who can secure a reasonable egg yield 
the spectre of high feed prices vanishes. The most im- 
portant factor in securing high egg yield is good hens. 
Without efficient hens, the best of rations, buildings, 
methods of incubation, breeding and marketing, are lost. 
At a time when maintenance costs are high, it is even 
more necessary to get production results than when pro- 
duction costs are low. 

For the season of 1919 we are planning on a much 
more extended campaign than ever before in the matter 
of culling and selection. THIS WORK IS BOUND TO 
REVOLUTIONIZE THE BREEDING OF POULTRY 
WHEN THE STATES WAKE UP TO ITS IMPOR- 
TANCE. 



IMPORTANCE OF HIGH AVERAGE EGG PRODUCTION AND HOW SECURED 



Results Of a Culling Campaign in 
Connecticut 

How Culling Increased the Daily Average Egft Yield on 
Seventy-five Poultry Farms from Twenty-eight 
Per cent to Forty-five and one-half, and Re- 
duced the Grain Bill Forty Per cent 

By PROF. W. F. KIRKPATRICK 

EDITORIAL NOTE— Probably there is no better wa.\ 
to illustrate the practical value of culling to poultry 
keepers than to show what has been accomplished when 
the method has been practiced. The Extension Depart- 
ments of a number of State Agricultural Colleges and 
State Departments of Agriculture have been quick to 
realize the importance of state-wide culling and have con- 
ducted intensive educational campaigns to that end, and 
with most encouraging results. In Connecticut interest 
has been especially keen and results highly satisfactory, 
as shown by the following extracts from a communication 
by Professor W. F. Kirkpatrick which appeared originally 
in the Reliable Poultry Journal. 



THE whole culling campaign has been based on the 
fact that some hens quit laying in July, that a lot 
of them quit in August and September, and that these 
birds that quit too early are not of course the best pro- 



large poster which was e.xtensively circulated throughout 
the state. 

Theoretically this is of course all very nice, but it is 
wasted energy unless one can get results. We have tried 
to keep careful records because the campaign was new 
to us, a project we had never before considered. Indeed 
it has never before seemed so necessary as now when 
New England poultrymen are paying such high prices 
for feed, while at the same time many believe that poultry 
products have not made relatively the same advance. 

All demonstrations were of course properly an- 
nounced and advertised beforehand. In addition to this, 
we asked the breeders whose birds were to be examined 
to keep a daily egg record of their flocks for one week 
preceding the date of the demonstration. We asked them 
likewise to keep a daily egg record of their flocks for one 
week following the demonstration. We wanted to have an 
absolute check on our work and to know for a certainty 
whether or not we were doing any good. 

I think the following figures tell a good story. Up 
to the first of October the poultry department here had 
conducted 75 selection demonstrations on 75 different 
poultry farms, covering every county in the state. The 
average attendance at each of these was nearly 19, and 
these people who came to see the demonstrations passed 
in signed cards, pledging that they would go home and 




Ml.. 9— .\ F.\RM CULLING DEMONSTR.ATIO.V I\ NEW KXf.T.AXlI 



ducers. We have gone on the theory that a hen that 
quit the job for a three or four months' vacation was not 
entitled to serious consideration; in other words, we have 
considered such hens "slackers" as compared with those 
that lay on up to the middle of October and even into 
November. 

We have of course employed the usual extension 
organizations to reach the people; that is, the county 
agents, poultry associations, and other organizations 
interested in the work. I want to add, too, that we have 
enjoyed the finest sort of cooperation and support from 
the Committee of Food Supply of the State Council of 
Defense. To assist in advertising the work we issued a 



cull their own flocks, totaling nearly 55,000 hens. The 
figures below show the results in the 75 flocks that the 
demonstrator visited: — 

Total number birds handled 7556 

Average daily egg yield 2130 Eggs 

Or 28 per cent. 

Total number of birds kept 4419 

Average daily egg yield 2018 Eggs 

Or 45 V2 per cent. 

Rejected as slackers 3137 

It can be seen from the above figures that these 75 
breeders, after removing over 3,000 hens from their flocks, 
suffered a loss of only 112 eggs a day; or in other words, 



20 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



they decreased their flocks 41^ per cent, but lost only a 
little over 5 per cent of the eggs they had been getting; 
or to put the case in still another way, they were able to 
reduce their grain bills about 40 per cent, while losing 
only about 5 per cent of their income from eggs. 

In closing, I want to say that this campaign has seemed 
to us to effect an immediate and direct saving to poultry 
breeders; and not only this, but in most cases it has 
automatically selected the best birds to keep over for 




FIG. 11— A POOR LAYER 

Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 

next year's breeding work; and lastly it reduces sub- 
stantially the consumption of grain fed to nonproductive 
animals. 

A Culling Campaign in New Jersey and Its Results 

The importance of eliminating nonproducing or low- 
producing hens, and in that way increasing the average 
egg yield of the flock, is duly appreciated by the Poultry 
Department of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 
Special efforts have been made to interest New Jersey 
poultry keepers generally in culling methods, with what 
success is shown by the following description of a culling 
campaign, supplied by Professor H. R. Lewis, Head of 
the Poultry Department: 

"Our culling campaigns show that culling materially 
reduces the number of birds in the flock without reducing 
in any material degree the actual number of eggs received. 
In other words, it greatly reduces the feed bill without 
reducing the income from eggs. The following figures 
from New Jersey's campaign bear this out. 

"During this state culling campaign twenty counties 
were covered and eighty-one demonstrations were held. 
The following tabulated results of this series of culling 
lessons show how profitable a practice is really repre- 
sented. These demonstrations were held in August aiid 
September. 1917. 

Total number of demonstrations 81 

Number of persons present to see work 

done 1,762 

Number of birds handled 22,542 

Number of birds culled out 10,668 

Number of culls to be kept for a short 
while, as they were laying some at the 
time of demonstration 3,256 

Average number of birds actually 

handled at each demonstration 128 

Per cent of profitable birds held. ...52 per cent 

Per cent of birds culled 48 per cent 

In the above campaign a record was kept on 7,532 of 



the birds handled, for a period of seven days before cull- 
ing and for seven days after culling, with the following 
result: For 7 days before culling the birds laid a total 
of 17,565 eggs, or practically 33 per cent, while for the 
7 days following the remaining birds laid 17,205 eggs, or 
a production of 32 per cent on the basis of the original 
number of birds. This is a drop of less than 1 per cent, 
while the number of birds culled was 47 per cent, which 
meant a reduction in feed costs of practically 50 per cent, 
with no appreciable loss of income." 

Standard-Bred Fowls Should Be Kept 

The superiority of standard-bred fowls has been demon- 
strated beyond question, time after time, and there is no 
excuse for or advantage in using those of mixed or mon- 
grel breeding. Even though the poultry keeper may have 
no desire to breed for show qualities and may have no 
intention of attempting to realize the largely increased 
prices that are always obtainable for breeding fowls, or 
eggs for hatching produced by them, and may intend to 
devote his attention entirely to commercial production, 
he still cannot afford to breed or keep nonstandard fowls, 
Whether comparison is made on the basis of egg produc- 
tion, cost of maintenance, or salability of product, the 
advantage invariably is with standard-bred stock and in 
no small degree. 

It is not denied that among fowls of inferior breeding 
there may be some that will possess desirable characters, 
even heavy laying ability. The proportion of such is 
always small however, and their inability to transmit 
such characters to their offspring with any degree of 
certainty makes their use in the breeding pen disappoint- 
ing. It is only by mating fowls whose ancestors have 
been bred for generations towards a definite ideal, that 
there can be reasonable certainty of improvement or uni- 
formity in any desired character. Even if it is granted 
that many breeders have been more interested in develop- 
ing special markings of feathers or other superficial 




FIG. 10— A GOOD LAYER 
Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 

characters than in developing size or productiveness, the 
fact remains that the so-called "practical" poultryman 
who makes his start with fowls of mixed or mongrel 
breeding invariably finds that he has handicapped him- 
self, cut his possible financial returns in two or worse, 
and has definitely set himself back one, two, or more 
years as a truly successful poultry keeper. 



IMPORTANCE OF HIGH AVERAGE EGG PRODUCTION AND HOW SECURED 



21 



Superiority of Standard Fowls 

Some of the advantages of using standard-bred fowls 
in commercial flocks are stated with special clearness in 
the following extracts from a circular entitled "The Mat- 
ing of Standard Poultry for Practical Results", prepared 
in the Poultry Division of the United States Department 
of Agriculture: 

"The term 'practical' is used here in the broad sense 
in which it applies as truly to all things that help to 
create and maintain interest in poultry production as to 
the things which relate particularly and directly to the 
production of eggs and meat. 

"There is nothing in the nature of poultry that would 
prevent supplying the world with all the poultry products 
it could use from races of poultry not attractive to the 
eye and not uniform in appearance. But there is that in 
the nature of man which makes poultry keepers give 
more careful attention to flocks in whicli they take pride, 
and makes the sight of a uniform, handsome flock effec- 
tive beyond all other things in extending interest in poul- 
trj- culture. 

"It is a general fact in the history of modern poultry 
culture that interest in poultry having distinctive appear- 
ance is essential to any marked increase in poultry pro- 
ducts. It is also a matter of common observation that 
poultry keepers who are indifferent about the looks of 
their stock rarely make notable success. Good work 
with stock that does not look good is not impossible, but 
what there is of it is occasional, irregular, and spasmodic. 
As a rule, the owner of a flock of mongrel-looking poul- 
try that does uncommonly well soon begins systematic 
efforts to improve its appearance. 

"A good looking flock is a stand- _____ 

ing advertisement of a certain i 

measure of efficiency in poultry cul- 
ture. It is plain evidence open to all, 
of skill in breeding and growing 
poultry; while performance — espec- 
ially in egg production — is celebrat- 
ed only as far as detailed accounts 
of it are published. Appearance 
speaks for itself; performance in thi? 
line must have some one speak for 
it. Sufficient attention to appear- 
ance to secure a pleasing uniformity 
in a flock is in the highest degree 
practical. Experience has shown ov- 
er and over that where this is lack- 
ing, interest is apt to flag and pro- 
duction is not maintained. 

"American standards for poultry 
express the characteristic American 
attitude in regard to combining 
beauty with utility in the individual 
bird and in the breed. While a few- 
breed types show the development of 
superficial characters carried to ex- 
tremes which unfit the breed for 
common use, these extreme develop- 
ments are all of foreign origin, the 
popularity here of the breeds pos- 
sessing them is very limited, and the 
influence of the common American 
demand for use with beauty tends 
constantly to modify extreme types. 



"The American idea of utility and beauty in combina- 
tion in domestic animals and birds is that those forms 
and elements of beauty which are expressions of actual 
worth, and those which are attractive and in no way 
inimical to utility qualities, should be cultivated, but that 
those which are in any measure incompatible with use- 
fulness ought to be eliminated.'' 

What Breeds to Keep 

As has already been staled, it does not matter greatly 
what breed of fowls the poultryman keeps, so far as egg- 
producing ability is concerned. The records of laying 
contests have shown that there are highly productive 
strains in nearly all of the popular breeds. In these 
contests Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, Ply- 
mouth Rocks, Orpingtons, Minorcas, Anconas, Langshans, 
— all have shared in the honors. WTiat is of vastly more 
practical importance than breed is to have a heavy-laying 
strain within the breed selected, since it has clearly beeti 
demonstrated that different strains in each breed vary 
widely with respect to their average productiveness. 

The poultry keeper who is interested chiefly or solely 
in egg production will naturally favor Leghorns, par- 
ticularly if his market prefers white-shelled eggs, or at 
least does not discriminate against them. The chief 
advantage which Leghorns have for commercial egg 
farmers is not that they are necessarily better layers 
than fowls of other breeds, but that they are more eco- 
nomical producers, because they are smaller in size and so 
require less feed per hen. 

The feed cost of producing eggs with Leghorns will 
average around 10 per cent less than with fowls of the 



:.h:!!-::-|-' 



wmw 



■fnifHpp 



Average of ah Conk sis 




"Wov. JJec. Jan. Feb. tlar. Aftr. flay June My Aug. Sept Oct. 



FIG. 12- 



RATE OF EGG PRODUCTION OF HE.WY BREEDS COMPARED WITH 
LEGHORNS 
The lines in above illustration show how the different breeds compare in average pro- 
duction. In plotting these curves the records made by the different breeds at Storrs, 
Vineland, Mountain Grove (Mo.), and North .American contests were used. Courtesy of the 
N. J. Exp. Station. 



22 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



larger breeds — an important saving where great number:; 
are kept. Leghorns may be housed in larger flocks, thus 
reducing labor; they require less floor space per hen, 
which means a smaller investment in buildings; they 
respond better to wholesale methods of handling in 
housing and feeding; they waste less time in broodi- 
ness; as a rule, their eggs hatch better and the 
chicks are more easily raised by artificial methods. For 
such reasons as these Leghorns are used almost exclu- 
sively in great egg-producing centers such as Petaluma, 
Vineland, etc. 

On farms however. Leghorns meet with less favor. 
What usually is wanted there is a large fowl that will 
also supply good-quality table meat, and that will have 
a substantial market value when sold. For this use the 
different varieties of Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and 
Rhode Island Reds are much in favor, choice between 
them being largely a matter of personal preference or 
fancy. As the demand for prime table fowls develops, 
it is to be expected that the popularity of the larger 
breeds will increase, and there is reason to believe that, 
under many conditions, the production of poultry moat 
may be made a feature of added profit even now, which 
profit may more than offset the lower cost of egg produc- 
tion in Leghorn flocks. 

Especial attention however, should be called to the 
fact that climate is, to some extent, a factor in choice of 
breed. In the comparatively mild winters of Southern 
New Jersey where the Vineland Laying Contest is con- 
ducted, Legihorns easily lead all others not only in num- 
bers of eggs per hen, but in net profit. At the Storrs 
(Connecticut) Contest however, where the climate is more 
severe, Wyandottes exceed all other breeds in productive- 
ness, though even there, when returns per 100 pounds of 
feed are considered rather than returns from individual 
fowls, Leghorns are found to be most efficient. 

Summary 

Heavy-laying ability is more or less common in all 
flocks, but is most highly developed 
and most general where fowls are 
systematically bred for this most im- 
portant quality. 




The number of eggs laid by any given fowl is deter- 
mined by her individual laying ability and the skill of the 
caretaker. 

The present general low average of production must 
be raised in order to insure permanence of the poultry 
industry as a profitable branch of farming. 

There are numerous causes of low production, all 
readily avoidable. 

The average production of any flock may be largely 
increased simply by culling out the inferior layers. 

Under average conditions specialist poultry keepers 
must secure a yearly average of at least 100 eggs per 
hen to realize a fair profit on their labor and invested 
capital. 

An average of from 150 to 165 eggs per hen has been 
secured with different breeds at egg laying contests, and 
can be approximated by commercial poultry keepers gen- 
erally. 

The best way to overcome the present handicap of 
high prices for feed is to secure larger average egg 
yields. 

State-wide culling campaigns have resulted in re- 
markable savings in feed consumption without any appre- 
ciable reduction in total number of eggs produced. 

The most profitable commercial flocks are of standard 
breeding. Where uniformity in the flock is lacking, inter- 
est lags and not even production is maintained. 

A combination of standard and utility qualities in the 
same flock is possible and practicable. 

There is little difference in the actual egg-laying abil- 
ity of fowls of the popular breeds, but there are wide 
differences in the productive capacity of various strains 
in the same breed. 

Leghorns are most popular on commercial poultry 
plants because more cheaply housed, fed, and cared for, 
than large fowls. 

Fowls of the larger breeds are mostly preferred on 
farms, and can be made an important source of added 
profit through the production of superior-quality table 

poultry. 

Climate should be considered in 
selection of breeds to be kept for 
egg production. 



^ 





FIG. 13— PROOF THAT STANDARD QUALITY NEED NOT BE SACRIFICED IN BREEDING FuK IIEA\ Y EGG PRODUCTION. 

Alt of the above fowls are of the bred-to-lay strain of White Leghorns on the U. S. Government Poultry Farm at Beltsville, Md., 
where standard quality and high egg production have been successfully combined. The White Leghorn cockerel on the left is out of a 
hen that laid 230 eggs in her pullet year. Eight of her sisters and halfsistcrs produce<l as follows in their pullet year: — 180, 187, 195, 196, 
198. 208, 235, and 240 eggs. The sire of this cockerel is the son of a hen that laid 213 eggs in her pullet year and 536 eggs in three years. 
The grandsire on the sire's side is a son of hen on the right. This hen laid 214 eggs in her pullet year and 654 eggs in four years. She 
is the great-grandmother of the cockerel shown on left. The cockerel in center was one of the foundation birds used in this strain. 



CHAPTER I 1 I 



Gulling Methods Outlined And Illustrated 



This Chapter Gives in Brief Form the Important Details of Various Culling Methods In (Common Use, Including the 

Official Outline for Culling as Adopted and Standardized by the American Association of Instructors and 

Investigators in Poultry Husbandry A Truly Helpful Interview with Professor H. R. Lewis is Presented, 

Clearly Explaining Difficult Points and Giving Much Additional Practical Information 

HE 




purpose of this chapter is to present, in 
condensed form, all the essentials of ap- 
proved culling methods, thus grouping the 
important details together for convenient 
reference and for readily making a complete 
application of them. In succeeding- chapters these 
methods are described more in detail, for the information 
of those who wish not only to know how to apply, in their 
complete form, the various tests recommended, Vtut also 
to have a thorough knowledge of the whole subject. 

Culling methods can be applied to some extent at any 
time of the year when the hens are laying. For several 
reasons the tests may be made more accurately in summer 
and early fall, when production falls off at the beginning 
of the molting season. It then is a comparatively simple 
matter to select not only nonproducers, but also those 
that may have laid well for a short period during the 
most favorable part of the year but that never reach a 
profitable total and that, after the first or pullet year, are 
apt to prove a source of serious 
loss, and are particularly unde- 
sirable in the breeding pen. 

Many commercial poultry keep- 
ers find it to their distinct 
advantage to begin culling much 
earlier than the date just sug- 
gested, making the first test as 
early as June, or whenever the 
egg yield falls much below 50 per 
cent. By doing this and by repeat- 
ing the operation at suitable inter- 
vals, they are able to keep the egg 
yield around 50 per cent all summe ■ 
through, thereby reducing the feed 
bill and adding materially to the 
net profit annually realized from 
the flock. Where this practice is 
followed, the flock is gradually 
culled down to half its original size 
by fall, or possibly one-third if it 
contains an unusual percentage of 
inferior producers. 

The first section of this chap- 
ter is devoted to the "Official 
Culling Outline"' as approved and 
adopted by the American Associa- 
tion of Insti-uctors and Investiga- 
tors in Poultry Husbandry at the 
1918 meeting, together with 
amendments adopted at the Second 
Annual Judging School at Cor- 
nell University, in 1919. This out- 
line is a summary of the methods 
employed with great success by 
College and Station Extension 



IT PAYS TO CULL 
ELIMINATE INFERIOR BIRDS 



TO SELECT BEST FOR BREEDING 



GOOD 



HOW TO TELL 
from the 



Fnit© \ 
large > 
Moist/ 

White 
White 
White 
White 



Vent 



Eye ring 

Ear lobe 

Beak 

Shanks 



Wide 
Thin 



> 



Large \ 
Plump \ 
Bright/ 

Bright \ 
Bulging/ 

Lean 



Spaa 



Comb 



Eye 



Heaa 



FIi;,. 14— CULLING IN A NUTSHELL. 
This effective chart was prepared by the New 
Jersey Experiment Station and puts the principal 
external characters of good and poor layers in sharp 
contrast. 



workers generally, under whose care the various state cull- 
ing demonstrations and organized campaigns are con- 
ducted in late summer and early fall. 

While this outline is simple and readily understood in 
the main, there are some points mentioned in it which 
persons unfamiliar with the subject will want to have 
explained more in detail. The senior author of this book 
had the privilege of paying a visit to the New Jersey Ex- 
periment Station recently and, among other thing.s, took 
advantage of the opportunity to discuss this outline in 
detnil with Professor H. R. Lewis, Poultryman at the 
New Jersey E.xperinient Station, and Secretary-Treasurer 
of the American Association of Instructors and Investi- 
gators in Poultry Husbandry, who has given a great deal 
of attention to this subject and is, therefore, particularly 
well qualified to explain and enlarge on the outline. He 
consented to do this in a comprehensive interview which 
forms one section of this chapter. 

In addition to explaining such points in the Official 
Outline as seemed to require ex- 
planation, Professor Lewis kindly 
arranged to furnish for our use a 
valuable series of photos, by means 
of which the whole culling opera- 
tion is comprehensively illustrated. 
These highly instructive photos 
reproduced in halftone (see Figs. 
17 to 34) and accompanied by the 
illuminating comments of Prof. 
Lewis, will also be found in this 
chapter. 

The concluding article in this 
chapter, "Judging Fowls for Egg 
Production," also is by Professor 
Lewis. It describes a simple and 
practical method of applying the 
instructions given in the "Official 
Outline." The beginner should 
not fail to provide himself with 
some means of keeping a perma- 
nent record of the "score" of his 
hens, using either this score card 
or the culling chart shown in Figs. 
.35 and 36. Either of these can 
readily be prepared by any job 
printer, or written on a type- 
writer. When filled out, such 
cards are valuable permanent 
records of the laying condition of 
individual hens. They will prove 
especially interesting and helpful 
if the fowls are handled more 
than once in a season, as should 
be done if true efficiency is 
sought in the laying flock. 



THE 



BAD 



< Yellow 
Small 
Dry 

Yellow 
Yellow 
Yellow 
Yellow 

< Narrow 
Thick 

/Small 
/ Shrunk 
\Du11 

/Dull 
\Flat 

Flat 



24 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



OFFICIAL OUTLINE OF CULLING METHODS* 

IN ORDER to lay well, a bird must have a sound 
body. As a first consideration, the bird must be 
vigorous and healthy if it is to be able to lay well. Vigor 
and health are shown by a bright, clear eye, a well-set 
body, a comparatively active disposition, and an indication 
of good blood circulation. Further, the bird must be 
free from physical defects, such as crooked beak, excess- 
ively long toenails; eyelids that overhang so that the 
bird cannot see well; excessively scaly legs, or anything 
else that would keep the bird from seeing or getting an 
abundance of feed. 

Loss of Fat and Loss of Color of Fat Due to Laying Pig- 
mentation Changes 

A laying fowl uses up the surplus fat in the body. 
Especially, it removes the fat from the skin. In yellow- 
skinned breeds, this loss of fat can readily be seen by the 
loss of the yellow color. The different parts of the body 
tend to become white, ac- 
cording to the amount of 
fat which is being taken 
from these parts, depend- 
ing, of course, on the 
amount of fat which has 
been stored up in these 
various parts, and the cir- 
culation of blood through 
them. It should be recog- 
nized that all yellow-color 
changes are dependent on 
the feed, the coarseness of 
skin, and the size of the 
bird. A large bird fed on 
an abundance of green 
feed, or other material 
that will color the fat deep 
yellow, will not bleach out 
in color in these various 
parts as quickly as will a 
smaller bird, or one which 
naturally has pale yellow 
coloring. The changes oc- 
cur in the following order: 
Vent. The vent changes 
very quickly with egg pro- 
duction, so that a white or 
pink vent on a yellow- 
skinned bird generally means 
that the bird is laying, 
while a yellow vent means 
that the bird is not laying. 
Eye Ring and Ear Lobe. 
The eye ring, that is, the 
bleaches out a trifle more slowly than the vent. The 
ear lobes of Leghorns and other white-lobed varieties 
bleach out a little more slowly than the eye ring, so 
that a bleached ear lobe means a longer or greater pro- 
duction than a bleached vent or eye ring. 

Beak. The color leaves the beak beginning at the base 
and gradually disappearing until it leaves the front part 
of the upper beak. The very tip of the beak is usually 
white before the bird is making eggs, and should 



FIG. 15— CULLING NOMENCLATURE 

1 — Vent. 2 — Eye ring 3 — Ear lobe. A — Beak. 5 — Shank. 6 — Hock 
joint. 7 — Abdomen. 8 — Pubic bone (rear part of pelvic arch). 
') — Pelvic arch. 10 — Rear of keel or breastbone. 11 — Location of 
lateral process. 12 — Face. 13 — Eye. 14 — Comb. 15 — Wattle. 



inner edge of the eyelid. 



*Reproduced from Hints to Poultrymen Vol. 6, No. 10, issued by 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 



not be confused with the loss of pigment due to production. 
A very small ring just on the crest of the curve of the 
beak often is the last part of the beak to lose its color. The 
lower beak bleaches faster than the upper, but may be 
used where the upper is obscured by a horn, or black 
color as in Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks. On 
the average-colored yellow-skinned birds, and on the 
average-sized bird, a bleached beak means fairly heavy 
production for at least the past four to six weeks. 

Shanks. The shanks are the slowest to bleach out, 
and hence indicate a much longer period of production 
than the other parts. The yellow color leaves the outer 
ring of the scales, then leaves the entire scale, on the 
front of the shanks first, and finally, after a longer and 
greater production leaves the scales on the rear of the 
shanks. The scales on the heel of the shank — that part of 
the shank just below the back of the hock joint — are the 
last to bleach out, and for this reason may scenerally be 
u.'ied as an index as to the natural depth of the original 

yellow color of the various 
parts of the bird. A 
bleached-out shank on an 
averaged-sized bird with an 
average yellow color,indi- 
cates that the bird has been 
laying fairly heavy for at 
least from 15 to 20 weeks. 
Reappearance of Pig- 
ment. When the bird stops 
laying, the yellow color 
comes back into the vent, 
eye ring, ear lobes, beak, 
and shanks in the same 
sequence as it left, but the 
color returns much more 
quickly than it went out. 
A vacation or rest period 
can sometimes be deter- 
mined by the end of the 
beak being bleached and the 
base being yellow, or a 
longer vacation or rest can 
be determined by the 
shanks being pale or some- 
what bleached and the 
beak showing a fair 
amount of yeliow pigment. 
In other words, if the de- 
gi''ee of yellow color in a 
bird gradually increases in 
density, from the vent to 
the eye ring, to the lobe, 
to the base of the beak, to 
the point of the beak, and to the .shanks, it shows that the 
bird has laid continually without rest for a period indicat- 
ed by the amount of yellow present; whereas, if the bird 
shows more yellow in any preceding part of the sequence 
as outlined, it indicates a rest period depending on the 
difference of the yellow color found in these parts. 

Body Changes Due to Laying 

Vent. A laying hen has a large, moist vent showing 
a dilated condition and looseness, as compared with the 
hard, puckered vent of nonlaying hens. 




CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



25 




FIG. Ifr-A CRATE FOR USE IN CULLING 

Various methods of handling fowls are used by different cuHing 
operators. Where the birds are to be handled individually, probably 
the best method is to use a crate such as the one shown above. 
This crate is placed on the outside of the building on a level with the 
exit door, being provided with legs of the right height for this pur- 
pose. When ready to begin operations, the exit door is opened and 
the fowls— a dozen or so, are allowed to go out Into the crate. The 
door then is closed and the birds are removed from the crate, one at 
ft time, and examined. 

.\bdonien. The abdomen is dilated a.s well as the vent. 
so that the pelvic arches are 'wide-spread, and the keel 
is forced downward away from the pelvic arches, so as 
to give large capacity. The more eggs the bird is going 
to lay in the following week, the greater will be the size 
of the abdomen in proportion to the size of the bird. The 
actual size of the abdomen is, of course, greatly influenced 
by the size of the bird and to a certain extent, by the 
size of the egg.s laid. 

Quality of Skin. Heavy production is shown 
by the quality of the skin. Fat goes out from 
the skin and body with production, so that 
the heavy producers have a soft, velvety skin 
that is not underlaid by heavy layers of hard 
fat. The abdomen in particular, is soft and 
pliable. 

Pelvic Arches. Heavy production is shown 
by the quality and the thickness and stiffness 
of the pelvic arches. In heavy producers 
these are apt to show high qualities by being 
thin and pliable rather than stiff and thick; 
hence the thicker and blunter the pelvic arches 
and the greater the amount of fat and meat 
covering them, the less the production, or the 
longer the time since production ceased. 

Sternal Processes. These, like the pelvic 
arches, should, in a bird of good production or 
in a bird which is producing heavily, show good 
quality by being soft and pliable, prominent, 
and generally bent outward. 

Head. One of the finer indications, yet one 
of the most valuable in picking the high lay- 
ers, is the fineness of the head. The head 
of a good layer is fine; that is, the wattles and 
ear lobes fit close to the beak and are loose 



and flat, the face is clean cut, and the eyes are full, round, 
clear, and prominent, especially as seen from the front. 

Feathering. The high layer is trimmer and always 
apt to be somewhat more angular, that is, the feathers lie 
closer to the body than on the poor layers, and after 
heavy production the oil from the base of the feathers 
does not keep the plumage relatively so sleek and glossy 
as on a poorer layer. On the other hand, the plumage of 
the heavy layer is apt to become worn and threadbare. 

Comb, Wattles, and Ear Lobes. The comb, wattles, 
and ear lobes enlarge or contract, depending upon the 
activity of the ovary. If these parts are large, full, and 
smooth, or hard and wa.xy, the bird is in full lay. If the 
comb is limp, the bird is only laying slightly, but is not 
laying at all when the comb is dried down, especially at 
molting time. If the comb is warm, it is an indication 
that the bird is coming back into production. 

Molting, When a bird stops laying in the summer, 
she usually starts molting. The later a hen lays in the 
summer, or the longer the period in which she lays, the 
greater will be her production; hence the high producer 
is the late layer and the late molter. The length of time 
that a hen has been molting, or has stopped laying, can 
be determined by the molting of the ten large feathers at 
the end of the wing, — the primary feathers. It takes 
about six weeks to renew completely the primary feather 
next to the middle feather of the wing, and an additional 
two weeks for each subsequent or outer primary to be 
renewed. 

Temperament and Activity. A good layer is more 
active and yet. more easily handled than a poor layer; she 
shows more friendliness and yet elusiveness than a poor 
layer. A poor layer or a bird which is loafing is apt to 
be shy, staying on the edge of the flock, and will generally 
squawk when caught. 



Tl.r fol 



1919 Amendments on Type 

iwino- additions to the foreeoina- rutline were 




i'k; 



17-EXAMINING A FOWL FOR EXTERNAL CHARACTERS IMJICATl.NG 
PRODUCTIVENESS 
In this illustration Prof. Lewis of the New Jersey .Agricultural Experiment 
Station is shown examining a hen, noting pigment in ear lobes, eye ring, face, 
beak, and shanks, also noting condition of plumage and comb, and general indi- 
cations of health and vigor. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



26 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



adopted at the Second Annual Judging School at Cornell 
University, July 7-12, 1919:— 

In order to make a record a hen must not only lay 
long but heavily. In order to lay heavily she must have 
sufficient body capacity to digest large amounts of food 
rapidly. Large capacity in a laying hen is shown by a 
body that is deeper at the rear end of the keel than at the 
front end. The under line should be fairly straight as 
shown in the illustration and the back should be com- 
paratively horizontal. 

A small capacity hen stands erectly. The body is 
either very shallow or, in the case of beefy individuals, 



the abdomen shows a pronounced sagging at rear of keel. 
A small-capacity hen generally possesses a hump on the 
back. The comb generally has sharp, narrow points, 
with the blade pointing up. 

The genei-al body conformation of a heavy producer 
conforms very closely to a rectangle with pronounced 
angles rather than smooth curves. 

A male shows the same general characteristics except 
that the abdomen is not so deep. 

The keel bone should be long and the body relatively 
deep in proportion to weight or length. 





I'U;. l.S-IUGll-I'KUDLX'I.\U I'lLLET Sv. J-411 
The above is a good illustration of the general appearance of the 
typical heavy layer. This pullet's production, estimated on the 
basis of the tests described in this chapter, was 120 eg^s on the date 
when photograph was taken — ,\pril 23. Compare with low-producing 
pullet in Fig. 19. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



FIG. IV- Low I'KOULXI.Mj IL LLl.T .NO. 2411 
The estimated production of this pullet on date when photo was 
taken (.April 23rd) was only 40 eggs. She was hatched on the same 
day as high-producmf; inillet No. 3-+11. To see how the culling score 
of this pullet compares with that of No. 3411 see culling charts, Figs. 
35 and 36. Photo front .\ew Jersey ?Zxperiment Station. 



Details of Official Culling Outline Explained 



An Interview with Prof. H. R. Lewis of New Jersey Experiment Station in which He Explains Various Points in the 

Official Outline and Gives .\dditional Valuable Information 
on This Subject 



AS previously stated. Professor H. R. Lewis, head 
of the Poultry Department of New Jersey E.xperi- 
ment Station, kindly consented to an interview designed 
to make plain, for inexperienced readers, various points 
in the foregoing outline that might cause some confusion; 
also to bring out additional details in regard to the prac- 
tical application of culling methods which Professor 
Lewis has developed in his extensive experience in this 
line of work. In response to inquiries in regard to cull- 
ing methods and the way in which they have been develop- 
ed, Professor Lewis made, in substance, this general 
statement: 

The methods of culling in use, particularly as develop- 
ed by college and station workers, consist in examining 
fowls during the summer and early fall, doing this on a 
basis of their external characters, the purpose being to 
pick out birds that have ceased to lay, with a view to 



marketing or otherwise disposing of them; also for the 
purpose of picking out those birds that have laid well, 
with the intention to retain them during the following 
year, using them either as breeders or layers. By the 
staterrient "external characters" is meant comb, beak, 
ear lobes, and other head points, shanks, vent, skin, plum- 
age, etc. These characters have been found to vary in 
hens, particularly in good layers as compared with poor 
layers. This variation may be, in some instances, with 
respect to size, and in other cases to color, softness of 
abdomen, pliability of skin, etc. 

Culling methods are of comparatively recent origin, 
having come into popular use during the last three years. 
This method of culling was in a measure standardized at 
the conclusion of a one-week culling school at Cornell 
University in 1918. As a result of this week of study 
and of conferences between experts in culling methods, 



CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



27 



certain official i-ules, reg-ulations, and desci-iptivc material 
were adopted. At the 1918 Annual Meeting of the Amer- 
ican Association of Instructors and Investigators in Poul- 
try Husbandry, which immediately followed the judging 
school at Cornell, these standardized descriptions were 
officially recognized and approved, thus giving culling 
methods an official status, and at the same time stand- 
ardizing the practice to a great extent. As will readily 
be seen by a study of the outline, the various tests applied 
in culling may be classified under the general heads of 
pigment changes, body changes due to laying, and gen- 
eral temperament and activity. 

Question — What is meant by "pigmtntation" or "yellow 
pigment" as described in the official outline? 

Pigmentation as here used refers to the yellow coloring 
matter found in the fatty tissues of certain sections of 
the fowl's body. This yellow pigment is an essential part 
of the ordinary poultry ration and manifests itself most 
clearly in the skin, shanks, beak, ear lobes, and vent. The 
pigment which gives these parts their characteristic yel- 
low color in such fowls as Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, 
etc., is the same pigment which makes the yolks yellow 
and, as stated in the outline, is associated with the fat in 
the fowl's body. 

Question — When a pullet or hen begins to lay, in what 
succession do the yellow-pigment sections bleach out? 

When a fowl begins to lay, her requirements for fat 
and yellow material for the yolk become exceptionally 
great, so that the ordinary ration does not supply the 
amount needed for both yolks and body fat. As a result 
the fowl draws upon the reserves of these materials in her 
body to build the yolks, or she possibly uses her entire 
supply of yellow pigment in the feed to manufacture 
yolks and has none to deposit in her body parts, con- 
sequently, as laying progresses, we find the yellow color 
disappearing successively from different sections of the 
body. It disappears first from those sections nearest to 
the ovaries, and in sections having the most rapid blood 
circulation. The fat, bearing with it its natural yellow 



pigment, is transported to the ovaries by the blood, and 
there elaborated into egg yolks. Careful observation has 
shown that the yellow color disappears from certain sec- 
tions of the body in the following order: First from the 
section around about the vent, next from the eye ring 
and face, then from the ear lobe, beak, and shank. 

Question — In the case of each section, about how long 
does the bleaching process require, as measured by eggs 
laid and by time? 

My observation is that it requires the laying of ap- 
proximately six eggs, or from ten to twelve days, for the 
vent to become entirely free from yellow. It requires 
the laying of from ten to fifteen eggs, or from fifteen to 
twenty days, for the ear lobe to become entirely bleached 
out. After laying from thirty to forty eggs, or from 
sixty to seventy-five days, the beak also will become en- 
tirely free from pigment, while in case of the shanks it 
will require from seventy-five to eighty eggs, or from 
one hundred to one hundred and twenty days, for them 
to become practically free from yellow. Since the shanks 
are the last to lose their color, the last-named period is 
the one required to make all sections practically free from 
yellow. These time periods apply primarily to Leghorns. 
Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Wyandottes, 
being heavier fowls, have a larger reserve supply of pig- 
ment and body fat to draw from, hence require a greater 
egg production, and conseiiuently a longer time is required 
in which to accomplish the same degree of bleaching. The 
extra' time required by larger fowls depends in large part 
upon their weight, which is a measure of the reserve fat 
supplied. In general it will require from three to six 
weeks longer for the American breeds to bleach out than 
for the Leghorns, depending however, upon how fat they 
were when they began laying, and upon their amount of 
production. It must be remembered in this connection 
that much depends upon the rations fed and the condition 
under which the fowls are kept. Theoretically the pig- 
ment begins to fade from vent and eye ring as soon as 




inc. 



-ME.\SlRI\r, SPRE.M) OF ri'BIC Ri.).\K> 



The distance between the pubia bones (the so-called "lay 
bones") varies more or less, and is greatest in high producers. The 
spread of the pubic bones is generally stated as being so many 
"fingers". The fowl here shown is No. 3411 (see Fig. 18) and is a 
"three-finger" fowl. Photo from Xew Jersey Experiment Station. 




no. n—.\ "TWO. FINGER" LAYER 
Low -producing pullet No. 2411 (see Fig. 19) is here shown unJer- 
,i?oing a test for spread of pubic bones. Only two fingers can be 
placed between them — a clear indication of inferior production. 
Photo from the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



28 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. 22— MEASURING CAPACITY OF ABDOMEN 
Heavy-laying ability depends quite largely upon ahdoiiiinal capar 
ity. This is conveniently measured by the distance between the 
rear end of the keel and the pubic bones. When these are far enough 
apart to admit four fingers, as in the case of the above pullet, high 
production is to be expected. Photo from New Jersey Exp. Station. 

yolk development begin.';, and since it require.s approx- 
imately 14 days for the complete formation of a yolk to 
the point where it is ready to burst from its follicle and 
begin its passage through the oviduct, it frequently hap- 
pens that the vent and eye ring become practically pig- 
ment-free by the time the first egg is laid, especially 
in the case of Leghorns fed on a grain ration which sup- 
plies little pigment and where only a limited amount of 
green feed is provided. 

Question — When the fowl stops laying, what occurs, 
as regards pigmentation? 

When a fowl stops laying, the requirements for pig- 
ment and fat for yolk formation promptly cease. The 
fowl then ordinarily begins at once to redeposit fat in its 
body, and quickly takes on pigmentation again. For- 
tunately for the poultryman, the yellow color reappears in 
the same order or sequence in which it disappears; that is, 
it comes back in the vent first, followed in succession by 
the eye ring, ear lobe, beak, and shank. It reappears, 
however, decidedly more rapidly than it was withdrawn. 
It follows from what has just been said that the first indi- 
cation that the fowl has ceased laying is the return of 
yellow color to the vent and, as a rule, one week of idle- 
ness is long enough to permit a sufficient accumulation of 
yellow color to show clearly that the fowl has stopped. 
It is not practical however, to depend entirely upon the 
appearance of yellow pigment in the vent for proof that 
the fowl has permanently stopped laying, particularly in 
the case of fowls of the larger breeds. Before concluding 
that such hens have stopped for the season, it is necessary 
to determine whether the check in production which 
brought about increased pigmentation may not possibly 
have been due to broodiness, or to a brief rest resulting 
from faulty feeding or some other unfavorable condition 
in connection with her management. It would not be safe 
to say that such a fowl has stopped laying for the season 
even though the vent may be strongly pigmented, unless 
the color also is seen to be coming back in her ear lobes, 



also that her comb shows signs of drying up. If the con- 
dition of her plumage indicates that she is beginning the 
molt that, of course, would be good evidence, taken in con- 
nection with the reappearance of pigmentation, that she 
has stopped laying for the season. In attempting to apply 
the foregoing suggestions in regard to the time required 
for the return of pigment, the ration must be taken into 
account. Fowls that are fed on liberal allowances of yel- 
low corn, or that are kept on alfalfa or clover sod will 
show a much more rapid reappearance of pigment than 
those kept whose ration carries a much more limited sup- 
ply of pigment. 

Question — Is the presence or absence of yellow pig- 
mentation looked upon as a safe guide in culling? 

Yes, I regard the presence or absence of pigmentation 
as one of our safest guides to use as a basis of determin- 
ing the present and past performances of fowls, especially 
when the test is applied in late summer and early fall. 
In making close estimates the operator must know the 
conditions under which the hens have been kept. 

Question — In treating on the reappearance of pigment 
after fowls have ceased laying, the outline refers to the 
fact that yellow color gradually "increases in density." 
Are these increases of sufficient distinctness to enable the 
poultry keeper to estimate with any degree of accuracy 
the length of the rest period ? 

Increase in density certainly is easily distinguished by 
the poultry keeper who makes a study of pigmentation in 
connection with culling. The practical value of noting 
the increase in density is to enable the observer to 
determine whether the bird has been a persistent layer, 
or whether she is taking a long rest. For example, fre- 
quently in the early spring we find a bird the tip of 
whose beak is white, also the base, while the center of 
the beak is yellow (see color plate No. 7). The vent 
also may be bleached out, and the ear lobes in the case of 
Leghorns. This variation in density tells us this interest- 




FIG. 2.!— A HEN WITH LIMITED EGG L.WIN'G CAP.XCITV 
The distance between the rear end of the keel and the pubic 
bones in this fowl can readily be spanned by two fingers, thus ghow- 
ing restricted size of abdomen and, as a result, low production is to 
be expected. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



29 




his fowls, in order 



FIG. 24— ILLUSTRATION OF DIFFEREXCE IN ABDOMINAL CAPACITY 
Note the large, soft, pliable abdomen of the high producer on the left, as 
compared with the small, hard abdomen of the low producer on the right. This 
illustration also shows clearly the difference in size of vent in a good layer as 
compared with a poor la.ver. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 

ir.g- story; This bird laid persistently for two nionth.s 
or more, or until the color was faded out of the beak, 
then she took a rest and the color returned, first to the 
vent then to the ear lobe, then as far as the middle of 
the beak. But before the beak had become completely 
pigmented, she again started producing, so when we 
handle her later on this statement of her performance is 
found plainly recorded. 

Question — What is meant by the following words 
quoted from the official outline, "a bird that naturally has 
pale yellow coloring?" 

This statement applies to fowls which naturally do 
not have as yellow skin and shanks — that is, are not so 
heavily endowed with yellow pigment^ — as others. Yellow- 
skinned fowls vary more or less in the degree of pigment 
shown in skin, beaks, shanks, etc., and the observer must 
take this fact into account in "scoring 
to avoid the danger of giving the 
naturally pale-colored fowl a higher 
score than she really is entitled to. 
There are comparatively few birds 
however, that are lacking in pig- 
ment to an extent that will interfere 
seriously with the application of 
pigment tests. 

Question — How can danger of 
errors be avoided in fowls having 
pale (but not white) shanks? 

The number of fowls with bleached 
or pale shanks, among our yellow- 
legged varieties, is so limited that I 
doubt very much whether we can 
anticipate any practical error from 
this cause. It should further be ap- 
preciated that anyone who culls 
purely on the basis of pigmentation 
is making an error. Culling to be 
accurate and practical, should be 
based on a number of characteris- 
tics, and the relative appearance of 
all of these characteristics should be 
considered in making up one's mind 



as to the disposal of each individual 
bird. It should be understood further that 
culling, especially in so far as pigmentation 
is concerned, is not an effort to determine the 
exact number of eggs laid by a bird, but 
rather we are working with and considering the 
two extremes in a large population; namely, 
those birds which have been relatively poor 
producers, which have quit laying and should 
be disposed of, and on the other extreme, we 
are after those birds which have laid remark- 
ably well and which it is desired to keep for 
breeding. The middle group, while they may 
be in large measure fairly accurately graded, 
do not interest us so much. In all the 2000 
pullets which have passed through our Vine- 
land Contest iii the last three years, we have 
found less than one per cent that possessed 
natural pale or whitish shanks to such an ex- 
tent that it will make us question our ability 
to cull them by the use of the pigmentation 
test together with other characteristics which 
we regularly consider. 

Question — Does the condition of shanks as 
to fullness or hardness have any bearing on culling? 

Undoubtedly the conditions of the shanks as regards 
fullness and plumpness has a good deal to do with indicat- 
ing the value of a bird as a layer. Fowls that have laid 
heavily will have laid out the fat in all sections of their 
body, including the shanks which will show a thin, lean 
appearance, the scales on the back especially being quite 
pliable. Those that have not laid heavily show a hard, 
full shank due to the accumulation of fat under the scales. 
This is simply a parallel to the condition of the face; 
that is, those fowls which have laid heavily show a lean 
face free from excessive fat, along with lean, thin shanks, 
while the nonproducer has a full face with the fat show- 
ing through the red, and this almost invariably is accom- 
panied by hard, round shanks. 

Question — How can the poultryman successfully apply 
pigmentation tests at night, bearing in mind the fact that 




FIG. 25-ABDOMINAL CAPACITY AND SIZE OF VENT COMPARED 
Heavy layer is on the left. Note the larger vent, greater distance from vent to end 
of keel (at top), and the greater width at keel, showing spread of lateral processes, as 
compared with the poor layer at right. 



30 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. 26-LOOSENESS AND PLIABILITY OF SKIN, CHARACTERISTIC OF GOOD LAYEP^-. 
This illustration shows quite clearly the difference in the flexibility or softness of the 

skill of the abdomen of the good laver on the right, as compared with the poor layer on 
the left, Plioto from New Jersey Experiment Station. 

it is particularly difficult to detect yellow color by arti- 
ficial light? 

Where it is desirable to malte pigmentation tests by 
artificial light, we always use what is known as a "day- 
light" flashlight. These are provided with globes in 
which the glass is tinted blue to destroy the natural yel- 
low rays of the ordinary electric light. On commercial 
plants a strong flashlight often is used with the glass 
coated with light blue paint. An ordinary lantern globe 
may be treated in the same way. This makes examining 
the fowls on the perches easy, quick, and accurate, and 
involves disturbing them much less than the individual 
handling required in the daylight examinations. 

Question — What is the most convenient method of 
handling the fowls in daylight culling? 

In daylight culling we use a large crate like a turkey 
crate for catching the fowls, doing the work first thing 
in the morning. Keep the birds confined until ready, then 
place the large crate on the outside of the house with the 
opening opposite the exit, and open the door. When 
enough fowls have gone out to fill the crate, close the 
door and examine these birds and proceed in this regard 
with the entire flock. This is a more laborious way than 
night testing, though perhaps better suited to the require- 



ments of the beginner. The profes- 
sional method however, is to examine 
the fowls on the perches at night 
using the flashlight wath blue globe, 
as already described. 

Question — What importance is at- 
tached to the condition of the vent? 

The appearance and condition of 
the vent is a most valuable clue to 
the present productiveness of the 
fowl. In the heavy-laying hen the 
vent is large, soft, pliable, and moist. 
It may be bluish or almost blue in 
color. In case of the heaviest layers 
the folds of skin on either side of the 
vent may be so blue as to present the 
appearance of being bruised. In a 
nonproducing bird the vent is com- 




FIG. 28-THE POOR LAYER HAS A NARROW SPAN 

The two-finger span of No. 3411 here indicated is character- 
istic of limited egg laying capacity. Photo from Xew Jersey Experi- 
ment Station, 




FIG. 27— WIDE SPAN INDICATING A HEAVY LAYER 
This is pullet No, 3411 with a span of fonr fingers between 
pubic bones and keel, showing large abdominal capacity. Photo 
from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



paratively small and rather dry; and where the hen is 
laying no eggs, is yellow in color. 

Question — What conditions of the abdomen and skin 
are associated with high egg production, and why ? 

The abdomen of a heavy-laying hen is always soft 
and flabby in condition, and the skin is loose and pliable. 
This is an important indication of productiveness in all 
instances. The nonlayer on the other hand is apt to 
have a hard, firm abdomen, while the skin will be tight 
and thick, and frequently will be coarse in texture. The 
skin of fowls varies more or less in the last named respect, 
in different individuals, and in general it will be found 
that the loss of pigment proceeds much more rapidly in 
fowls having fine-grained skin, though this is not a differ- 
ence that will readily be noted by the average observer, 
nor does it need to enter extensively into a practical ap- 
plication of culling methods. 

Question — How does heavy egg production or the lack 
of it affect body conformation? 

The abdomen of the fowl is directly affected by pro- 
duction, and in the heavy layer is always well developed 
and deep. The space required for the accommodation of 
active egg organs and their contents, and the relatively 



CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



31 



large quantities of feed required in heavy egg production 
call for large abdominal capacity, and this is in itself an 
excellent indication of the productiveness of the fowl. 

Question — What is the pelvic arch and what relation 
does it bear to egg production? 

The pelvic arch is the bony framework at the rear 
part of the fowl's body. It consists of three pairs of 
bones on either side of the backbone, forming an incom- 
plete circle through which the egg passes. In the fowl 
about to begin laying it will be found that the bones of 
the pelvic arch show a more or less increased spread, the 
practical effect of which is to give greater room for the 
egg organs and thus to permit the more ready passage 
of the egg through the oviduct and, of course, to provide 
generally the additional abdominal capacity already men- 
tioned as being highly important in heavy laying. The 
principal part of the pelvic arch in which the poultry 
keeper is interested, and which is utilized to a consider- 
able extent as a guide in selecting layers, is the pair of 
pubic bones, sometimes called "lay bones", which form 
the lower end of the pelvic arch, and are readily felt in 
the live hen, being the two bony points on either side of 
the vent. The position of the pubic bones is regarded 
as of decided importance in selecting layers. In non- 
layers we find these pubic bones drawn close together, 
while their apparent thickness also is much greater than 
in hens that are laying heavily. This thickness is brought 
about partly by an accumulation of fat under the skin 
which overlies the pubic bones, and which is always char- 
acteristic of nonlayers in good health, and partly by the 
bones folding over on themselves. As ordinarily tested, 
by folding the skin over them, the thickness of the pubic 
bones may vary anywhere from one-eighth to nearly one 
inch, thin bones always being a characteristic of the best 
layers. In addition to the thinness, pubic bones in good 





FIG. ?9-SPREAD OF PUBIC BONES IN A GOOD LAYER 
Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



l.-IG .11)— THE POOR LAYER HAS LITTLE ROOM BETWEEN 
PIBIC BONES 

Photo ir<iin .W-w Jersey Experiment Station. 

livers appear much more soft and pliable. In nonpro- 
ducers we find the ends of the pubic bones drawn close 
together chiefly as a result of increased curvature. 

Question — What are the sternal or lateral processes, 
and what bearing do they have on egg production ? 

The sternal processes are the thin bony structures 
which extend out from either side of the upper part of 
the front of the sternum or keal bone. These processes 
extend backward diagonally from the keel and serve par- 
tially to enclose and protect the lower part of the abdo- 
men. When the body cavity becomes filled and distended 
with a mass of egg and digestive organs, as they will 
during heavy production, these sternal processes are 
pushed outward, and due to this position and to the pliable 
skin and its freedom from fat they then are prominent 
and easily felt with the fingers. Prominence of sternal 
processes, therefore, is simply another evidence of en- 
larged abdominal capacity. In nonproductive fowls these 
bones are not readily detected from the outside. 

Question — Given a normal healthy fowl that has ample 
body capacity, what should we look for in head points, 
with a view to estimating egg production? 

Head points generally are import? it in that they de- 
note vigor and stamina, while the comb is an extra good 
index to the condition of the egg-laying organs. The 
laying hen has a prominent, bulging eye, wide open and 
bright, and her head is free from an" excess amount of 
fat. The face is pink rather than yellowish in color, and 
it has a dished, rather lean appearance. The comb 
should be of moderate size, and both comb and wattles 
should be of fine texture. In a heavy producer the comb 
is always well developed and bright in color, full, plump, 
and has a warm oily or waxy feeling, and when a portion 
of it is pinched to remove the blood it will look whitish 
rather than yellow. So far as the appearance of the 
head is concerned it is readily distinguishable when the 
observer has before him two birds showing the extremes 
in this connection. In heavy layers the wattles fit close 
to the head and hang rather near together, while in a 
poor layer the head parts are fleshy and filled with fat, 
causing the wattles to appear distended and to stand out 
more from the body. The changes in the appearance of 
the comb are much more gradual than the return of pig- 
ment to the vent. The experienced culler can determine 



32 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. ,11— FINDING THE LATF.KAI. I'UO- 
CESSES 
The lateral or sternal processes are buiu-s 
extending backward from the upper part of 
the front of the keel. They are widespread 
and prominent in good layers. Photo from 
New Jersey Experiment Station. 



by the comb 
whether or not 
the hen is laying 
and can do so as 
readily and as ac- 
curately as by 
noting the color 
of the vent, but 
the comb condi- 
tion requires 
longer to make 
the change from 
the bright, pliable 
red con d i t i n, 
characteristic of 
the good layer's 
comb, to the dry, 
shrunken condi- 
tion of the non- 
producer. 

Qu e s t i o n — 
What effect does 
broodiness have 
upon the appear- 
ance of fowls, 
and is there any 
danger of con- 
fusing good lay- 
ers when broody, 
with inferior pro- 
ducers ? 

The effect of 
broodiness upon 
the size or appearance of comb and wattles is not especial- 
ly apparent if not too long continued. Tlie physiological 
changes which take place in fowls at this time require high 
body temperatures and rapid blood circulation. The broody 
fowl therefore, presents in most sections the same appear- 
ance as when producing. While the brooding of the 
hen causes a rest period which may halt the bleaching 
process, this does not necessarily put her in the same 
class, as regards appearance, with those that have quit 
laying for the season and will go through a molt. Dur- 
ing the period of broodiness the requirements of the 
body heat no doubt draw upon the fowl's food supply 
and upon her body fat, as we know from records of the 
weight of fowls during natural incubation. Her comb 
and wattles remain bright however, and do not show 
drying and shrinking as the hen that is taking a per- 
manent summer rest. I doubt very much whether the 
average person would confuse a bird of this type with 
ono that was ready for the discard as a result of having 
gone into the summer and fall rest period. 

Question — What connection does early and late molting 
have with egg production ? 

The time of molting is an excellent indication of egg- 
producing ability in hens. Early molters, that is, hens 
that molt in midsummer, generally take a long time to 
molt which means a long rest period. Observation has 
shown that the late molters, as a rule, are the ones that 
have been so diligently at work laying eggs that they 
have not had time to change their plumage. Natural 
or normal molting occurs in the late summer and early 
fall of the year following the spring in which they were 
hatched. Individuals vary somewhat in their molting 
periods however, depending primarily on the amount of 
their egg production. As a rule, fowls of the same strain 
or family, hatched about the same time and producing 



about the same number of eggs, will molt in about the 
same length of time. Anything which checks egg pro- 
duction is apt to throw the hen into a molt, hence the 
practical problem is to care for them so well that they 
will keep on laying eggs well into the fall, in which case 
the molt will take care of itself. 

Question — What is the average length of time required 
for molting? 

The time required for molting varies so greatly with 
individual hens that it is difficult to express an average. 
Heavy producers usually molt much more quickly than 
poor producers. We have records of hens taking three 
months or more to change their entire coat of body 
feathers and to grow a new coat. We also have records 
of hens making the complete change in six weeks. 

Question — What do you consider the relative value of 
the different methods of culling as here described ? 

Placing them in the order of their relative value, I 
would suggest first considering the condition of comb and 
plumage (whether molting or not); next I would place pig- 
mentation tests which are capable of being applied with 
a good degree of accuracy when properly understood; 
last I would place the position of the bones of the pelvic 
arch. As I have previously stated, every precaution 
should be taken to keep hens in laying condition, espec- 
ially in the late summer and early fall, because just as 
soon as their production is checked for any reason, they 
naturally use their food supply to make feathers, and when 
a hen is molting she is rarely ever laying. The molt is 
dependent upon egg production and not egg production 
upon the molt. We used to say, "our hens are molt- 
ing, so they are not laying.'' We now say, "our hens 
have quit laying, so they are molting." 




FIG. 32— TYPE IN GOOD AND POOR LAYERS 
The carcasses of heavy-producing pullet No. 3411 and poor pro 
ducer No. 24H in profile show clearly one difference in type. The 
lines of the back and keel of the poor producer on the right are 
almost parallel to each other, whereas in the good producer on the 
left they are at a slight angle, being widest at the rear and thus 
affording greater capacity. Photo from New Jersey Exp. Station. 



CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



33 



Question — How should the average poultry keeper go 
about culling his flocks? 

If the egg production is noticeably under 50 per cent 
he should go over his flock as early as the latter part of 
June, picking out those birds that have already quit, as 
evidenced by the condition of their external characters, 
and promptly dispose of them. He should then repeat this 
process every two weeks if necessary to keep his produc- 
tion up to 50 per cent, and continue to do so throughout 
the summer, until by fall about half will have been dis- 
posed of in the ordinary flock. The remaining 50 per 
cent left will include the most persistent layers and the 
heaviest producers for the year. 

Question — Is there any working i-ule to go by in esti- 
mating what proportion of the flock is laying? 

Yes, we have found that the per cent production dur- 
ing the summer months is a good indication of the pro- 
portion of the flock which is laying, also of the number that 
should be disposed of. Speaking generally, a 50 per cent 
production means that practically all of the birds in the 
flock are laying. When this production drops below this 
point, doubling the percentage, whatever it may be, will 
give one an index as to the proportion of the number of 
birds laying. For illustration, if we are getting a 40 per 
cent production we are safe in assuming that 80 birds in 



100 are laying, and by actual test we have found that 20 in 
each 100 can be culled out and disposed of without 
noticeably reducing the total number of eggs produced. 
If we are only getting 30 per cent it means that about 40 
out of each lOU are nonproducers and should be culled 
out and sent to market. 

Question — Do these foregoing facts in regard to cull- 
ing apply with equal force to larger breeds than Leg- 
horns, or do they relate chiefly to observations in the lat- 
ter breed? 

A great many of our observations in regard to culling 
have been on our Vineland contest flocks where we have 
60 pens of Leghorns and 40 pens of heavy breeds. Our 
observations therefore, apply fully as much to the latter 
as to Leghorns. However, it should be understood that the 
practical application of culling methods is much harder 
and less accurate in the heavy breeds than in the Leg- 
horns, owing to the greater accumulation of body fat and 
to the slower disappearance of the same when laying be- 
gins. Also, in Rhode Island Reds, the presence of the 
reddish horn in the beak and shanks makes it much harder 
to detect the true condition as to pigmentation. There is 
no question about the fact that the same general rules ap- 
ply to all yellow-skinned and yellow-shanked birds, but 
their application is. of course, a matter of practice. 



Culling Methods Illustrated With Leghorn Hens 



The Photos Here Reproduced .Show the Correct Position in Which to Hold Hens When Testing for Egg Laying 

.\bility .\fter Testing the Live Hens They Were Killed and Plucked and Again Posed Before 

the Camera in Order to Make Every Step as Plain as Possible 

ter layer, but when they are examined for the different 



IN ORDER to make plain to the beginner the various 
steps in culling, the series of illustrations shown in 
Fig. 17 to Fig. 34 has been prepared, these being secured 
especially for this purpose at the New Jersey Experiment 
Station, through the kindness of Professor H. 
R. Lewis and his assistants, Mr. V. G. Aubry 
and Dr. W. C. Thompson. The following 
comments in regard to these illustrations are 
by Professor Lewis. In this connection, the 
reader's attention is also called to the series 
of illustrations for Plymouth Rocks in Chap- 
ter IV, supplied by Cornell University, and 
the Rhode Island Red series in the sam« chap- 
ter, supplied by Storrs Agricultural College, 
also the eighteen color plates on pages 5 to 8, 
prepared from photographs supplied by Cor- 
nell University. These plates show in nat- 
ural colors, the various differences in pig- 
mentation exhibited by good and poor-laying 
fowls, or resulting from length of rest period, 
whether due to broodiness or other causes. 



The hens shown in the illustrations were 
selected to illustrate a good and a poor layer 
respectively, the high producer being shown 
in Fig. 18 (pullet No. 3411, estimated produc- 
tion on April 26 — 120 eggs), and the low pro- 
ducer in Fig. 19 (pullet No. 2411, estimated 
production 40 eggs). Both birds were scored 
April 26th of this year. It is not probable 
that any one could certainly tell from these 
illustrations which of the two was the bet- 



characters already mentioned, the inferiority of No. 2411 
becomes obvious. 

Fig. 17 shows how to examine a hen for general con- 




FIG. 33-MEASURING THE THICKNESS OK THE PUBIC BONES 
Tliere is little or no actual difference in the thickness of the pubic bones in 
different hens, but there is a great difference in the apparent thickness, wlucli 
is produced by the fat underlying the skin and surrounding the bones. The 
eood layer on the reader's left has comparatively little fat and the skin is thin ;uid 
pliable so that there is a limited amount of tissue between the bone and the finger 
In the poor layer on the right, the skin is thick, with a heavy layer of fat 
underneath, thus making the pubic bones appear more than twice as thick as 
in a good layer. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



34 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



dition and external characters. This is a good way in 
which to hold the bird, and while in this position color 
(pigmentation) of the ear lobe, beak, face, eye ring, and 
shank should be noted, also the size, color, and texture of 
the comb. At the same time, or before the bird is taken 
in hand, note the condition of plumage, and all general 
evidences of health and vigor. Remember in this con- 
nection that fowls may be pale in color as a result of poor 
health, depredations of lice, etc., and that the degree of 
yellow varies vidth individuals, environment, rations, etc. 
If the fowl is sick, shows any deformities, is broken down 
behind, or otherwise is plainly defective, it is needless to 
proceed any further with the examination. 

A fowl with white eye ring, moderately yellow upper 
beak, and quite yellow shanks, is shown by this test to be 
productive, but to have been laying only a short time. 
Late in the summer after the fowls have ceased laying, 
the pigment begins to come back and will be found first 
in the vent, then in the eye ring, face, and lower beak, all 
of which may be almost normal in color, while the upper 
beak and the shanks will still be faded. This condition in- 
dicates to the experienced observer that the fowl while 
not laying at the time of the test, probably made a good 
record for the year. 

In Fig. 20 is shown the method of determining the 
spread of the pubic bones. The fowl in this illustration 
is No. 3411 (see Fig. 18), and is here .«hown to be clearly 
a "three-finger" fowl; that is, three fingers (pretty good- 
sized ones at that) can be placed between the points of the 
pubic bones. Fig. 21 illu.strates low-producing pullet No. 
2411 undergoing a similaf test and shoiving only a "two- 
finger" space. 

The distance between the pubic bones and the end of 
the keel bone i.s determined as in Fig. 22. It took four fin- 
gers to span the distance in No. 3411, an indication of am- 




kk;. j4— egg organs and digestive systems of high and low- 
producing HENS 

After undergoing the tests illustrated in Figs. 20 to 3i, hens No. 3411 and No. 2411 were 
opened to show the appearance of the reproductive and digestive organs. Both hens were 
laying at this time, but the high producer on the right had a much larger ovary ami 
oviduct than the low producer. There was a greater difference in the appearance of these 
organs than is indicated by the photo. Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



pie abdominal capacity. Fig. 23 shows No. 2411 with 
only a "two-finger" space between pubic bone.s and keel. 
Taken in connection with Fig. 21, showing the small 
spread of her pubic bones, her limited capacity is plainly 
indicated, even to the most inexperienced. 

In applying comb tests remember that size alone is not 
a reliable guide, since the size of the comb depends not 
only upon breed, but upon the individual fowl. The gen- 
eral character of the comb, its texture, its "feel", and its 
-freedom from the scale that usually is found on the combs 
of nonproducers, — all are excellent indications of pro- 
ductiveness. The comb test is not of much assistance to 
the observer in determining length of laying period, but 
clearly indicates whether the fowl is actually laying or 
about to lay at the time of the test. 

Examination of Good and Poor Layers after 
Being Plucked 

After pullets No. 3411 and No. 2411 were handled and 
"scored" in the manner just described, they were killed 
and plucked and again photographed in different posi- 
tions in order to bring out still more clearly the peculiar 
differences in bodily structure which accompany or result 
from high and low production. 

In Fig. 24, hen No. 3411 is at the reader's left and hen 
No. 2411 at the right. In the former note the large moist 
vent, the greater depth of abdomen, looseness of skin. 
and absence of excessive accumulation of fat. The poor 
producer at the right however, shows a .small, dry vent 
with less depth of body, more body fat, and the tight skin 
characteristic of hens of her class. 

Fig. 25 shows still more clearly the difference in ab- 
dominal capacity and in shape. Note the full, soft, pli- 
able body and the large abdomen of the high producer at 
the left. The condition of the abdomen in this bird, which 
is characteristic of high producers 
generally, is readily contrasted with 
the small, tight-skinned abdomen of 
the low producer at the right. 

Fig. 26 illustrates another way 
of determining pliability of skin and 
the general looseness of abdomen. 
In this illustration the high producer 
is at the right, as is readily seen by 
the greater elasticity of the skin, 
also by the noticeable difference in 
depth of body as measured from keel 
to backbone. 

Fig. 27 is a companion view of 
Fig. 22. The hen here shown is high 
producer No. 3411 with a span wide 
enough to admit all four fingers of 
the operator's hand, thus showing 
that she had ample capacity for 
eating and digesting large quanti- 
ties of food and for accommodating 
the greatly enlarged egg organs 
characteristic of the heavy-laying 
hen. Remember, however, that wide 
span occasioned by a short keel, has 
no value as a mark of capacity. 

Fig. 28 is a companion view to 
Fig. 23 and shows poor producer No. 
2411 with her contracted abdomen 
in which the distance between the 
end of the keel and the pubic 



CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 



35 



New Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station 









CULLING CHAItT 






Shanli. 


PRODI 

lirak, K..r. Vcnl 


;CTIVITY BY EXTERNAL CIIAKACTERS 




Clashes 
1 
2 


Vent Pelvic Development 
rontliiion. S.7C Widlh, TliRkncw ^P'""" Plumn^r 


Com I. 


3 

4 

Class 
Dcscnplions 


■1 

2 

■ 3 

4 


Ivory Vor>' Moist 
Tint Moist 
Mrdium Dr>- 
Yclloiv Wo r)r>' 

Classes J " 
U. 

a. 

h 
c, 


Vor>- I-ar.;e V<.n Wi.lc \cn,- Tlnn Ven.- Wide f)l.i .ill prc^tnt 
Larce VVidi- 1 Inn W ulc OI.I some absnil 
Medium Medium Medium Medium Growing new 
Small Niirrow Tliick Xarrow NV-w llirou^fioiit 

To keep for special m-itin^s 
To keep for (icneral divine and brcedinR. 
To hold for monlli or unlil layinp ceases. 
To sell imriHrdialtly 

Poor health or sickness 

Lack of xigor or slamma. 

Broken do«n ph^SlCi^lly as result of hc:.vy layinp 


Rmdit 

Dull 

Iliy 

Sl.tueled 



Note: — This chart is designed for use in the summer jnd fjll !o aiil m ihe <limifulion of iion pr(«hKti\c hins and to aid in 
the selection of the lie'^t hens. 

fk;. .^.^culling chart for high rkoDrii.xc, hen 

This chtirt was designed to provide a simple and coiiveiiitTit method of reconling uli- 
servations in culling fowls. A high and generally straight line, such as here shown, indi 
cates that the fowl under observation was of exceptional merit as a producer. This chart 
records the condition of pullet No. 3411 in April, at whicli time she had 120 eggs to her 
credit. Courtesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



bones can be spanned by only two fingers. 

Fig. 29 shows how, in high-producing hens, the pubic 
bones are spread apart, in this case affording sufficient 
space between them to admit three fingers, — a further 
indication of abdominal capacity, especially the upper part 
of the abdomen where the egg organs are located. 

Fig. 30 shows the contracted pelvic arch of poor pro- 
ducer No. 2411 whose pubic bones were so close together 
that only two fingers of the operator's hand could be 
placed between them. In exceptionally poor producers 
the space between pubic bones may be reduced to not 
much if any more than the width of a single finger. No. 
2411, while classed as less than medium in this respect 
at the time she was examined would, at the usual culling 
time in late summer or in early fall, after she had entirely 
stopped laying, be found to have these bones much closer 
together — possibly enough to make 
her only a "one-finger" fowl. 

With the two fowls shown in 
profile as in Fig. 32, their differ- 
ence in capacity is clearly indicated. 
High producer No. 3411 on the left, 
with the rear end of her keel bone 
pushed out to afford the extra ab- 
dominal space required by the vari- 
ous organs of a heavy layer, pre- 
sents an altogether different ap- 
pearance from that of the poor layer 
on the right. Lines parallel with 
back and keel extended to the front 
of each bird would meet in the 
heavy layer, whereas they would b^ 
nractically parallel in the case of 
the poor producer on the right. This 
wedge-shaped profile in the good 
layer is an excellent illustration of 
what is meant by "egg type". See 
also illustrations showing the wedge 
shape in the heavy layers in Chap- 
ter vn. 

Fig. 31 shows the manner of 



locating the sternal or lateral pro- 
cesses. These are flat bony struc- 
tures arising on either side of the 
front of the keel bone and extend- 
ing backward between the end of 
the keel and the ribs. In a good 
layer these processes are prominent 
and well spread, while in the poor 
layer they are depressed and much 
less readily felt. 

Fig. 33 .shows the method of 

measuring the thickness of pubic 

bones. The high producer is on the 

left, and the- difference between the 

thickness of her pubic bones and 

that of the poor producer on the 

right, is here clearly shown. There 

is practically no difference in the 

actual thickness of the bones, but 

in good layers the skin is soft and 

liliahle an<i has little fat under it, 

while in others the skin is stiff and 

thick, and under it is a heavy coat 

of fat which greatly increases the 

apparent thickness of the bones 

when measured in this way. 

The photo from which the half-tone engraving in Fig. 

34 was reproduced was taken in the spring when both birds 

were laying, and does not, ther'efore, show the difference 

between the sg^ organs of a layer and a nonlayer, but 

rather the difference between a good and a poor layer 

in these respects. The heavy producer at the left had 

laid consistently for the preceding five months, while the 

low producer at the right had only come into laying. 

The egg organs of each hen are shown at the side of 
the body. Note the larger ovary and more numerous 
ovules (yolks) in the reproduction system of the heavy 
producer on the left. The illustration however, does not 
clearly show the actual difference between the two fowls. 
When the birds were cut open the oviduct of the heavy 
producer was quite noticeably larger, longer, and more 
vigorous in appearance than that of the low producer. 

Nev*/ Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station 



CULLING CHART 

PnODUCTIVlTY B-i' EXTERNAL CHARACTERS 



Classes 



Pigment 
Shatik, Beak, Ear. Vent 



Pelvic Devetopmerti 
Width, Thickness 



Span 



Plumage Coinb 




Class 
Descriptions 



Ivory 
Tint 
Medium 
Yellow 



\'ery Moist Very Large 

Moist 

Dry 
Very Dry 



Very Wide Verj- Thin Very Wide Old all present Bright 

Large Wide Thin \\\Ar Old some absent Dull 

Medium Medium Medium Medium Growing new Dry 

Small .Varrow Thick Nairow New throughout Shriveled 



1 To keep for special matings 

2 To keep for general Laying and breeding. 

3 To hold tor month or until laying ceases 

4 To sell immediately 

a. Poor health or sickness 

b. Lack of vigor or stamina 
c Broken down physically as result of heavy laying 

Note : — This chart is designed for use in the sun-mer and fall to aid in the elimination of non productive hens, and to aid "^ 
the sclcclioit of the tiest hensL 

FIG. .16— CULLING CHART FOR POOR PRODUCER 

The line in this chart represents the condition of poor -producing pullet \o 24 J 1 wheti 
scored in April, at which time her estimated production was only -10 eggs. Courtesy of 
the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



36 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



Judging Fowls for Egg Production 

A Practical Score Card for Use in Selecting Layers is Here Presented— It Simplifies the Application of Gulling Tests 

and Should be Kept for Future Reference. It Provides a Permanent Record of the 

I/aying Condition of Individual Fowls at Time When Laying 

By PROFESSOR H. R. LEWIS* 

During the last week of October and the first week of A small-capacity hen generally stands erect. The 
November, 1919, a cooperative poultry conference was body is either very shallow and cut away at the breast 
held at the International Egg Laying and Breeding Con- and abdomen or in the case of beefy individuals, the ab- 
test at Vineland, New Jersey. Representatives of the domen shows a pronounced sagging at the rear of the 
poultry departments of four of our eastern colleges and keel due to large accumulations of fat. Extremely poor 
experiment stations participated. The persons in attend- producers frequently show a hump on the back, 
anee were Prof. W. R. Graham, of the Ontario Agricul- HEAD AND ADJUNCTS 
tural College, at Guelph; Dr. O. B. Kent, of Cornell Uni- Perfect Score — 15 Points, 45 Eggs 
versify, Ithaca, N. Y.; Prof. W. F. Kirkpatrick and Roy One of the best indications in picking high layers is 
E. Jones, of the Connecticut Agricultural College, at the fineness of the head. The head of the heavy producer 
Storrs, and Prof. H. R. Lewis and Victor G. Aubry, of the is fine, showing a lean face, free from wrinkles and 
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, New Bruns- overhanging eyebrows. The wattles and ear lobes fit close 
wick. This conference was held at the invitation of Prof. to the head and are not loose and flabby. The face is 
H. R. Lewis of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment clean cut, the eye is full, round, and prominent, especially 
Station, the object being to study in great detail the when see from the front. An eye which gives a clean- 
yearling hens at the Vineland Contest, especially to deter- cat wide-open appearance is desirable. The eyeball of 
mine external body characters which can be used as an the heavy producer is generally set in the rear of a large 
accurate measure of determining past performance. oval socket, showing considerable of the white eye mem- 
One outgrowth of the above conference was the devel- brane in front of the eyeball. The head of a heavy pro- 
opment of a preliminary score-card designed for use in ducer should be well balanced, being moderately deep and 
judging birds for egg production. It is appreciated by broad. The extremely fat, full head of the beefy bird and 
the members of the conference that such score-card is t^g long, thin, pointed head of the low-vitality bird are 
only preliminary and is simply a first step in the devel- both undesirable and should call for heavy cuts in this 
opment of a score-card, the final completion of which will section. The low-producing bird generally shows a de- 
take many years of careful study. pressed eye with overhanging eyebrows and wrinkled skin 
In working out numerical values for the score-card at ^t the back of the eye. The extremely long sharp beak is 
this conference, the perfect bird was recognized as 100 per usually possessed by the low producer, while the medium 
cent, which was allowed to be equivalent to a production stout, "well-curved beak is a mark of the high producer, 
of 300 eggs. Numerical values for all sections were then BODY CONFORMATION 
so arranged that each per cent of value is equivalent to Perfect Score— 30 Points, 90 Eggs 
three eggs, or put differently, a cut of one pomt m any ^^j^^^ ^^^^^ -^ ^,^g j^^^^j^^ ^ ^^^^^ producer will show, 
one section is equivalent to a cut of three eggs. In work- , ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^ pj l^^^y^ especially at 
ing out the following score-card, the principles evolved at ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^■^^^ l^^^l j,g„g ^he keel must be 
the judging school held at Cornell University during the ,„oderately straight, relatively long and carried well back. 
past 2 years were applied in so far as possible, and some ^j^^ ^ between the pelvic bones and the keel must 
new and more recent observations added. ^^ ^^.^^ ^^.^^ excessive accumulations of fat. Birds which 
Score-Card t, i *■ „ are laying heavily can be readily detected by the develop- 
Perfection Egg-Production ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ abdomen. Such birds will show pelvic arches 
Body Type (as seen m coop or Pomts Value ^^^^y^ ^^^ widespread and a kee! which is forced down 

on floor) -5 '0 away from the pelvic arches so as to give large capacity. 

Head and Adjuncts ^ li> 40 -p},g poor producer generally shows a shallow body 

Body Conformation (as deter- especially at the front of the keel, a small shrunken abdo- 

mmed by handling) 30 M ^^^^ together with all evidences of small capacity. 

Handling Quality 10 30 HANDLING QUALITY 

Legs and Toes 5 15 p^^^^ Score-10 Points, 30 Eggs 

(condition i^ ^^ r^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ heavy-producing hen is thin, soft, and 

Total Perfection Score 100 300 pliable, especially the skin on the abdomen must be thin 

The above score-card is designed to apply to hens as f".d loose^ The skin of the poor producer is generally 

well as to pullets. In applying the above score-card, the thick, hard, and rather coarse to the touch. The thin yel- 

following description of the various sections will aid in vety skin is almost always associated with heavy ovarian 

a common understanding of the various ideals sought for. activity. LEGS AND TOES 

IT, . c ^^^or^J?^ 7r r- Perfect Score— 5 Points, 15 Eggs 
. ^f'^^"*: Score-25 Points, 75 Eggs rj.^^^ ^-^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^ producer are flat, pliable, and 
A bird of good body is usually well balanced in hat ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ j^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^.-^^^ ^ ■ ^^^^^ 
the body itself must be deep, showing a nearly rectanguar ^„^^^ ^^.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^ . ^^^^.^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^-^^^ 
fo™, we 1 developed m breast and abdomen. Great depth ti^/,,,^„ks will be bleached out. The toes should be 
of body IS especially desirable, but appaient depth must ^^^^- y^^ ^^^ ^he toenails show indication of proper activ- 
not be due to loose feathering, which is generally shown e ^^ ^^^ producer are usually round, 
by an evidence of loose thigh feathers. Cochin and Ex- ^ rather coarse scaled 
hibition Game type and feathering are usually associated h'^^d, and rather coarse scaled_ 
with poor production. Large capacity is essential if a n c » a ^Z_T^ P«i^i= i^ P<,o-= 
hen is to lav long and heavily. Such capacity is designat- Perfect Scor«--15 Point^s, 45 Eg^ 
ed by a bodv that is deeper at the rear end of the keel A bird to be capable of highest sustained production 
than at the front end. The underline should be fairly must be first of al healthy She must show vigor and 
straight and the back should be comparatively horizontal. activity and be well fleshed Late molting in hens is 
Prominent breast development, with evidence of a long desirable. Early molting and slow maturing, as shown 
keel are desirable qualities in a high-producing hen. The by the pnmary feathers, should be cut severely. Late 
general bodv conformation of a hlivy producer conforms developing and late maturing usual y "^dicate low pro- 
very closely to a rectangle with pronounced angles rather duction. In applying this section to hens, health and 
Zi! r^t!>tl, n^.t^Z molting conditions should be given primary consider- 
than smooth curves^ ,., t f „ s,.finni ation. In applying this section to pullets, health and ma- 

^Condensed from "Hints to Poultrymen (N. J. Exp. btation) ^oiuii. tn "I'l".)' "B " . _ :j„,„i;„v. 

Vol 8 No. 2? turity should be given primary consideration. 



C M A V T E 1{ I \ 



How to Cull Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes and R. I. Reds 




ChariUters Indicating Heavy Laying Are Similar in AH Breeds, But Pigment Changes Are Made More Slowly in Large 
Fowls Than in Leghorns — For This Reason the Observer Must Depend More Upon Kgg Laying Capacity with 
Rocks, etc., — Why Wyandotte Breeders Must Give Special Attention to Capacity — 
Fowls of Standard Size Are Better Layers Than Those Conspic- 
uously Over or Undersize for the Breed 

IRECTIONS for culling as given in Chapter III Since fowls of the larger breeds generally have red 

apply directly to Leghorns, but in a general ear lobes, the lobe test cannot be as readily applied as 

with Leghorns. However, it should be understood that 
yellow pigment is deposited not only in ear lobes but 
also in comb and wattles just as in the skin, beak, etc., 
and is subject to fading and renevval in precisely the 
same way. The presence of pigment in these parts is 
shown by a yellowish tinge in the red and its absence by 
a whitish or bluish shade as shown in color plates on 
pages 5, 0, and 7. It was found at the University of 
Missouri that the presence of pigmentation in comb and 
wattles may readily be detected by pinching them and 
noting color before the blood comes back. 

The temperament of large fowls is much less nervous 
and high strung as compared with that of Leghorns, for 
which reason heavy producers in these breeds will not 
exhibit the same degree of activity or nervous energy as 
will Leghorns of the same grade. Within the breed how- 
ever, it will be found that the best layers are the active, 
energetic, and intelligent birds. Inasmuch as there is a 
quite general tendency in fowls of the larger breeds 
toward the beefy type, the test for activity and intel- 
ligence is especially valuable and should never be ignored. 
Conformation of head, shape and position of eyes (see 
Chapter VI), are particularly helpful when applied to 



way may be used in culling fowls of any of 
the yellow-legged breeds, making due allow- 
ance for such modifications in detail as are 
required by physical variations characteristic of breetl 
and variety. The capacity tests for Leghorn hens, as 
illustrated in Figs. 20 to 23, also pigment tests, may be 
applied to fowls of the larger breeds in the same way 
and in the same order, keeping in mind however, that 
changes in pigment take place more slowly in fowls of the 
larger breeds. Pigmentation tests therefore, do not give as 
clear-cut results as in Leghorns but, on the other hand, 
capacity tests can be even more successfully applied. 

It will readily be understood that in large fowls the 
distance between pubic bones, also the span between pubic 
bones and rear of keel bone will be uniformly greater 
than would be the case in Leghorns with similar egg 
records. For example, a large Plymouth Rock of quite 
inferior laying ability may show greater actual measure- 
ments in these sections than would be found in a high- 
producing Leghorn, due to the greater dimensions of all 
parts of her body. Other necessary readjustments in 
directions for culling Leghorns, when applied to the larger 
breeds, relate to shape of body, size and shape of comb, 
color of beak, etc. 





FIG. 37— A GOOD-PRODUCING B.^RKED PLYMOUTH 
ROCK HEN 
This hen (061) laid 126 eggs from November 1, 1918, to 
August 20, 1919, when the photograph was taken. Photo from 
Cornell University. 



FIG. JS-.\ I'lJijK-L.WLNG BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK HEN" 
This is hen No. M14 as described in text. She has an es- 
timated production of 50 eggs from November 1st to August 
20th. Photo from Cornell University. 



38 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




fowls of large 
breeds, because 
they denote to a 
marked degree, 
the intelligence 
or mental activ- 
ity which will al- 
ways be found 
associated with 
heavy layers. 

Egg laying 
capacity as indi- 
cated by a full 
breast, a good 
spread of the pel- 
vic bones, and a 
large, pliable ab- 
domen are al- 
most invariably 
associated with 
the capacity for 
heavy produc- 
tion. Remember, 
however, that 
there are other factors which enter into the question, 
such as the inherent ability to lay, normal development 
of the egg organs, etc., while previous care and feeding 
clearly have a most direct bearing upon results secured. 
There is room here for the use of a good degree of prac- 
tical judgment in scoring birds, particularly where their 
previous performance and treatment or feeding has not 
been normal. A hen with capacity for only moderate 
performance may compare favorably in actual production 
with a hen having capacity for much greater production, 
but which, because of the improper feeding or management 
has never developed her powers fully. 

In culling large fowls, one factor that is apt to cause 
some confusion as compared with the culling of Leghorns 
is the rest period or broodiness. As is shown in Chapter 
IX, the fact that most fowls of the large breeds go 
through one or more periods of broodiness during the 
laying season does not necessarily prove that they wdll, 



FIG. .19— .•>, HE.W V.L.WlXti WHITE 

PLVMOLTH RUCK 
'Phis White Plymouth Rock hen, belong- 
ing to the Government Experiment Farm 
.It Belt.sville, Maryland, was not trapped 
until January 2S ami from that time until 
September 11 she laid 176 eggs. During this 
period she produced 84 eggs in 92 consecu- 
tive days and 109 eggs in 122 consecutive 
da vs. 




on this ;,ccount, lay fewer eggs in a year than non- 
brooding Leghorns. With the exception of extremely 
high producers, fowls of all breeds have periods of rest 
and recuperation, and it appears to matter little, as re- 
gards the total number of eggs for the year, whether 
they are broody during the rest period or merely non- 
productive, — provided the brooding fowls are properly 
cared for, are prevented from wasting too much time in 
brooding, and are well fed. 

In culling at the end of the laying season there will 
be little or no difference between the pigmentation of a 
fowl that has had one or more short rest periods during 
the spring and summer and that of one that has been 
laying more or less steadily vrithout becoming broody. 
Where the broody period has been a long one, however, 
the fowl may show a banded beak, the position and ex- 
tent of the pigmented and nonpigmented sections being 
determined by the time that has elapsed since the rest 
period occurred. 

In early culling however (June and July), the observer 
will have to use due caution successfully to distinguish 
between fowls that have discontinued laying for the sea- 
son and those that have stopped for a broody period and 
probably will resume laying again shortly. This can be 
readily detected in most cases as there appears to be a 
distinct difference in the condition of the ovary of a good 
laying hen that is going through a short brooding rest, 
and a poor producer that has ceased laying for the sea- 
son. In the latter the ovary is inactive, and comb, pig- 
mentation, and other characters take on all the marks 
of nonproduction, while in the former the ovary remains 
more or less active, pigmentation changes either are not 
made at all or much more slowly, while the comb often 
ismains bright and plump. In a good laying hen, if 
well fed, the ovary frequently resumes yolk formation 
just as soon as broodiness ceases, and as it requires about 
two weeks for the formation of a complete yolk during 
which time there will be no deposition of pigment in 
skin, beak, etc. Hens that begin laying within three weeks 
of the time they become broody, may not show any 
change in pigmentation at all, or only about the vent. 
Marked variations in pigmentation, size of comb, spread 
of bones, etc., indicate long rest periods. 




FIG. 40— HE.\D OF GOOD-PRODUCIiVG PLYMOUTH ROCK 
Note particularly shape of comb, development of eye, and the 
"lean" appearance of the face. Photo from Cornell University. 



FIG. 41— HEAD OF POOR-PRODUCING PLYMOUTH ROCK 
Compare the high comb and full, beefy face of this bird with 
head of good producer in Fig. 40. Photo from Cornell Univ. 



HOW TO CULL PLYMOUTH ROCKS, WYANDOTTES AND R \. REDS 



39 



Special Points in Gulling Plymouth Rocks 

Plymouth Rocks Should be Standard Size. Length of 
Keel .^eeds Special attention. 

''■"' HE Plymouth Rock is the large.st of the three breeds 
considered in this chapter and for that reason 
everything that has been said in regard to malting allow- 
ance for size, applies with special force to the culling of 
fowls of this breed. Particularly in applying the finger 
test to spread of pubic bones and span between pubic 
bones and keel, keep this point in mind. 

It is not necessary nor desirable for the poultry 
keeper to select small hens in this or any of the popular 
breeds in the belief that larger size is opposed to pro- 
ductiveness. That appears to be true only when the fowl 
considerably exceeds standard weight. Speaking gener- 




FIG. 42— .\ "3-FI.\L.l : ....i:Lli I'LV.MOUTH ROCK 

This is the heavy-laying hen No. G61, shown in Fig. 37. 
rhoto from Cornell University. 

ally, those that approximate standard weight for the 
breed to which they belong, are the ones that are most 
normal in development and hence best fitted physically 
for the strain of heavy and long-continued production. 
There are important practical reasons why the person 
who keeps Plymouth Rocks should breed them approx- 
imately to standard weights. If he wants smaller fowls 
he should change to a breed that is naturally smaller 
rather than to spoil his Rocks by deliberately breeding 
them down to an inferior level, in which he is more 
likely to lose in productiveness, than to gain. 

The ear lobes of Plymouth Rocks are red, but the 
eye ring or edge of eyelid, is pigmented. The upper 
mandible of the Plymouth Rock, in some varieties, fre- 
quently carries some dark or horn color, which interferes 
with the application of beak pigment tests to some extent, 
but the close observer will note a distinct difference in 
shade due to the presence or absence of yellow with its 
modifying effect upon the horn color. The pigmentation 
of the lower mandible, which is free from horn color, 
fades out much more quickly than in the upper, and 
therefore is not so helpful in estimating rest periods. 

The life-like plates Nos. IX and X on page 7 show, in 
their natural colors, the head of a heavy-laying Barred 




FIG. «-.\ \.\RUO\V PKLVIC AKCIl 
This illustration shows limited space between pubic bones — 
a common character in poor producers. Photo represents hen 
No. M14 shown in F*ig. 38. Photo from Cornell University. 

Rock hen, also the head of a nonlayer. Thtse plates 
bring out clearly the difference in pigmentation of beak 
and eye ring, also shape and color of comb and wattles. 

The shanks of Plymouth Rocks are apt to carry more 
or less black, particularly in pullets from cockerel mat- 
ings, but seldom enough seriously to interfere with cull- 
ing tests. The shape of comb, with reference to the 
development of serrations and the position of the blade, 
are as indicative of productiveness or the lack of it, as 
in Leghorns. 

One charactei- in Plymouth Rocks that must be 
watched with .special care is the tendency to short keels. 
This has the effect of limiting abdominal capacity and 
is likely to cause "bagging down" behind after the pullet 



'^ 




-MF..\srRi>."r, ,\i:ii. ..\ri\ \i 

GCJUD LAVEU 



\i'Ai in III 



Hen No. G61 shows a "4.finger" span between pubic bones 
and keel. Photo from Cornell University. 



40 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



year — a common fault in fowls of this breed. This con- 
dition interferes with the proper functioning of the diges- 
tive organs, and is apt to result in the development of 
pathological conditions. Such fowls, even though they 
may have made good records, should never be used in 
the breeding pen. In applying the finger test to the 
span between pubic bone and keel therefore, note par- 
ticularly whether the space between them is due to depth 
of abdomen or merely to shortness of keel. A short- 
keeled bird may show a span of three or four fingers and 
yet grade very low in capacity. 

In culling Plymouth Rocks, keep in mind the alleged 
fact mentioned in Chapter VI, that size of comb is a good 
index as to size of egg organs and therefore of the eggs 
produced. This means that hens with extremely small 
combs may be expected to be producers of small eggs. 
Obviously, this does not mean that eggs produced by 
fowls of a naturally small-combed breed, such as the 
Plymouth Rock, will be smaller than those produced by 




FIG. 15— LIMITED CAPAi i . \XS LIMITED PKUDL'CTIOX 

Hen No. M14 has only a •■2-finger" spar, between pubic 
bones and keel. Photo from Cornell University. 

Leghorns, because this is known not to be the case. 
Neither is there any proof that a strain of Plymouth 
Rock distinguished by larger than average combs will 
lay larger than average eggs. But when it is known that 
eggs of inferior size are being produced, the members of 
this flock that have noticeably small combs for the breed 
are properly under suspicion. 

Culling of Barred Plymouth Rocks Illustrated 

The excellent photographs reproduced in Figs. .37 
and 47, were supplied by Dr. O. B. Kent of Cornell Uni- 
versity and are designed to illustrate the application of 
culling tests to types of good and poor producers, in this 
particular breed and variety. 

The hen shown in Fig. 37 (Cornell No. G61), has a 
record of 126 eggs from November 1, 1918 to August 20, 
1919, on which latter date this series of photos was taken. 
Her carriage is not of the best though this may be due 
largely to fright. She shows however, the wedge-shaped 
profile that is expected in good laying birds of any breed, 
the rear end of keel dropping well down below a line 




FIG. 46— A GOOD AND POOR PRODUCER CONTRASTED 
Good producer No. G61 is on the right. The poor layer 
on the left apparently has as much capacity as G61 but is of a 
coarse beefy type — is lacking in laying "quality." Photo from 
Cornell University. 

horizontal with the back, and having good length. In Fig. 
40 the head points are clearly brought out. The face 
generally corresponds to the description for a good layer, 
as given in the official outline in Chapter III. 

Fig. 42 shows the spread in the pelvic arch, while 
Fig. 44 illustrates plainly the hen's large abdominal 
capacity, measuring from the pubic bones to the rear end 
of the keel. This fowl has a fairly long keel bone so that 
in measuring the span, the fingers would be almost hori- 
zontal if the bird were in her normal position, or almost 
at right angles with the back. 




FIG. 4r— I.VTERNAL ORGANS OF GOOD AND POOR 
PRODUCING HENS CONTRASTED 

The good producer (G61) is on the right and M14 on the left. 
The difference in size of oviduct is clearly shown, also the much 
greater development of the intestines in G61. Photo from Cornell 
University. 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



41 



Fig. 38 shows a poor laying hen (Cornell No. M14), 
selected for comparison with the good layer just described. 
The production vt this hen was estimated at 50 eggs from 
November 1, 1918 to August 20, 1919. She is shorter in 
the back than G61, and her keel bone is more or less 
tucked up in the rear, thus reducing her span to only 
about three fingers as shown in Pig. 45, with a corre- 
sponding reduction in abdominal capacity, as a result of 
which, good production could hardly be expected. Her 
head, shown in profile in Fig. 41 is of a coarser, more 
beefy type, than hen No. G61; the blade of her comb 
extends upward instead of following the contour of the 
neck, while her face is full and fat. Compare this illus- 
tration carefully with Fig. 40, in order to get the distinc- 
tion between these two head types clearly in mind. 

Fig. 46 shows G61 (on the right) and M14, plucked 
and hanging up, to illustrate the difference in abdominal 
capacity. The fact that GGl is evidently smaller than 
•M14 is not to be taken as evidence that the smaller size 
contributed to her better egg record, the difference in 
this respect being accidental no doubt. M14 is of a 
coarser, more beefy type, however, from which only 
medium to poor production can be expected, regardless 
of size. It has already been shown that within the stand- 
ard weights for the breed, size is not necessarily a handi- 
cap in egg production. 

Fig. 47 shows these hens cut open, oviducts removed, 
and intestines spread out to indicate the difference in 
their development. It will be noted that the oviduct of 
GGl, the good layer, is much larger than that of M14, due 
to the fact that the one hen is still laying while the other 
has entirely ceased. However, as is shown in Fig. 34, 
the oviduct of the poor layer is regularly much smaller 
in size than that of the good layer, even when both are 
producing. The development of the intestines of GGl 
would alone establish her identity as the better layer of 
the two, these being larger and longer, thus showing 
greater capacity for digesting food. 




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_L.^J/ltCfe ^a.n.l'^ttru.JL' iz^ i 




' /> /5" zo zs- j3 ^r ^Q_ tfr /a 





FIG. 49— GRAPH COMPARING PERCENTAGE OF PRODUCTION OF 
WYANDOTTES WITH LEGHORNS 
The lines shown above indicate production percentages bv weeks. The weekly pro- 
duction records of all Wyandottcs and White Leghorns entered in the Storrs Laying Con- 
test for a period of five years were used in preparing this graph. Here, while the Leghorns 
excelled in summer production, the Wyandottes were distinctly in the lead through the 
high-price months. 



Culling Wyandottes — All Varieties 

Wyandottes Have Proved to be .Superior Winter Layers - 
-Standard-bred Type is No Bar to High Egg Production 
if not Carried to Extremes, Capacity Being Se- 
cured by Depth Instead of by Length as in 
Fowls of Some Other Breeds 

^^ HE Wyandottes have long been one of the most popu- 
-^ lar breeds of fowls. They have good size and are 
excellent layers. The graph shown in Fig. 49 which was 
prepared from five-year records at the Storrs Egg Laying 
Contest indicates the superiority of Wyandottes over Leg- 
horns in cold weather production at this institution. In 
Figs. 48 and 50, 52 and 53 are shown some high record 
egg-contest layers that would be a credit to any breed. 
By way of contrast note the 20-egg hen in Fig. 51. 

Much that has been said in regard to tlie culliMg of 
Plymouth Rocks applies 
with equal force to Wyan- 
dottes, but the difference 
in shape of comb must 
be taken into considera- 
tion. The comb of the 
good laying Wyandotte 
will be fine in texture, 
not too small, nor so 
large as to be coarse and 
beefy, and will be a dis- 
tinct "rocker" comb in- 
stead of standing up at 
the rear. 

Color plates XI and XII 
on page 7 show the life- 
like heads of a good layer 
and a slacker. Pigmen- 
tation is dependent upon 
production, just as in the 
case of Leghorns and Plymouth Rock.^ 

the difference in pigment extends to 
the red of the face, comb, and wat- 
tles which has a yellowish tinge in 
the nonlayer that is not apparent in 
these parts in the productive hen. 

There is a distinct difference in 
the body type in standai-d Wyandottes 
as compared with standard Plymouth 
Rocks, the latter being decidedly 
longer, while the Wyandottes have 
greater depth. This must be care- 
fully considered in judging laying 
capacity, as the strict application of 
the Plymouth Rock standard of com- 
parison would lead to serious under- 
valuation of all Wyandottes in this 
respect. In culling fowls of this 
breed the observer will expect great- 
er relative depth of body as measured 
by the span from pubic bones to end 
of keel, capacity being secured in this 
v/ay that, in the Plymouth Rock, is 
afforded by greater length. 

The Wyandotte breeder, there- 
fore, must give the question of capa- 
city more attention than is necessary 
in either of the other breeds. 



Fil, -1,- 
HEN 

22.? EGGS IN 
Phot') from 
Kxp. Station 



\ -II. \ Li; W \ .\Mm .1 1 L 
WITH A RECORD OF 
12 .MONTHS 
.Missouri Poultry 



Note also that 



42 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




Mii^ 



riG 511— A WHITK WYAN- 
DOTTE WITH RECORD OF 
194 ECCJS IX IJ MOXTHS 





I-IG. 51— WHITE WYAN" 
DOTTE WITH A YEAR'S 
RECORD OF 20 EGGS 



I-TG. 5J— A WIHTL W VA.N 
DOTTE WITH RECORD OF 
232 EGGS IN" 12 MOXTHS 



ered in this chapter, and should bear in mind that the 
extremely short, almost spherical type which was popular 
in this breed a few years ago, is much more apt to be 
associated with reduced capacity than one of moderate 
length such as is now favored by many exhibition fowl 
breeders and positively demanded by practically all com- 
mercial poultry keepers ising Wyandottes. 
Wyandotte Type 

With Wyandottes it is hardly practicable to apply the 
triangle test for laying type (see Figs. 82, 83, and 84). 
The Wyandotte is too blocky and, round to meet this ex- 
treme description of type, except i i ca:;es where individua'. 
fowls approximate Plymouth Reck type in length of body. 
That, however, is no reason for assuming that Wyandottes 
are at any disadvantage with respect to their productiv-.' 
ability. Abdominal capacity c.-in be and is associated 
with depth and breadth of body as well as with length, 
and it cannot make any material difference which way it 
is secured. Depth, or dist.ince from back to rear end of 
keel bone, is a marked character of Wyandottes, as also 
is breadth, and with these two qualities well developed 
there will be ample room for digestive and egg organs, 
even in a c.imparatively short body. However, the ex- 
tremely round, "snowball" Wyandotte, popular among 
fanciers some years ago, was quite apt to prove inferior 
in productiveness because, in the effort to secure the 
nicely rounded underline, breeders were indifferent to, 
if they did not actually favor, a "tucked-up" keel. 

To a large extent, the exhibition Wyandotte owes 
much of its roundness to loose feathering, rather than to 
actual bodily dimensions. Among some families of Wya"'- 




FIG. .y— A HEAVY EAYIXG CONTEST PEN OF 
SILVER VVVAXDOTTES 
This pen was entered in tile Fit'tll .Xustralia Egg L;iying Coi. 
test, and the hens averaged 199 eggs each in twelve :nonths. 



dottes the feathering is extremely loose, approaching 
the Asiatic type in this respect. This is another objec- 
tionable character to the commercial poultry keeper, how- 
ever, as it is the belief of most culling experts that it 
usually is accompanied by inferior laying ability. 

With the present tsndency toward moderate length of 
body, the difference between the Wyandotte fancier and 
the commercial poultry keeper is comparatively slight. If 
the former will yield a little on this point, there is no 
practical difficulty in the way of effecting an entirely 
satisfactory combination of exhibition quality and capacity 
for high egg production. — and most certainly is it in the 
best interests of the breed to do this. 

Merits of Wyandottes as an Egg Breed 

The practical merits of Wyandottes are well establish- 
ed by the records made by fowls of this breed at the 
International (Storrs) Egg Laying Contest. A summary 
of the production of the leading breeds at this contest 
(fifth year) shows that the Wyandottes there led all 
others, not only in numbers of eggs produced, but in their 
market value. The following quotation in regard to this 
is from Bulletin No. 89 of the Storrs Experiment Station: 

"The table presented herewith, gives the number and 
weight of all eggs produced by each of the principal 
breeds represented in the contest, and the average value 
per dozen. It will be noted that the Plymouth Rocks 
lead in weight of eggs per dozen, while the Wyandottes 
hold last place. As the last column shows a value of 
35..3 cents per dozen for Wyandotte eggs against 34.6 
cents for eggs from Plymouth Rocks, one may wonder 
whether large eggs are, after all, worth no more on the 
market than small ones. The explanation lies in the fact 
that the Wyandottes produced a larger proportion of 
their eggs during the months of high prices. Further- 
more, the factor of size was not considered in determining 
the values presented in the last column. All eggs which 
weighed over one and one-third ounces (.08 lb.) were con- 
sidered marketable at current prices. In a competitive 
market this would not be ti'ue." 

Table Showing Value of Eggs Per Dozen 

(Based on total numher of eggs produced by all pens of named 
hrceds entered in Fifth International Laj'ing Contest.) 
Eggs 
Xo. per 
Breed Birds Bird 

Plvmouth Rocks ... 170 160.4 

Wvandottes 170 169.6 

R. I. Reds 210 1.58.7 

White Leghorns .... 350 16.5.4 

Miscellaneous 100 147.2 



Total 


Wt. per 


Value 


Xumber 


Total Dozen 


per 


of Eggs 


Value in Oz. 


Dozeti 


27,273 


.$787.41 26.4 


34.6c 


28,803 


846.92 23.5 


35.3c 


33,327 


961.63 24.4 


34.6c 


.57,890 


1,653.93 23.8 


34.3e 


14,719 


413.82 24.3 


33.7c 



All Breeds 



.1000 162.0 162.012 $4,663.71 24.3 34..5f 



HOW TO CULL PLYMOUTH ROCKS, WYANDOTTES AND R L RFDS 



4.3 



Culling Rhode Island Reds 

Pigment Tests Are Not as Readily Applied to Reds as to 

Many Other Breeds. .Standard Body Type However is 

Exceptionally Favorable to Development of 

Ample Abdominal (^apatity 

'■"'HE typical Rhode Island Red is a loiiii-(>r bird than 
*- the Plymouth Rock in proportion to its dejjth, is 
narrower across the back, an<l a little higher on its legs. 
If not bred for too narrow a back, which will result in 
jtinching the pelvic arch (an objectionable character in 
any laying breed), the standard Rhode Island Red hen 
conforms to the generally accepted requirements us to 
egg laying capacity to an unusual extent. 

As compared with Wyandottes, the Rhode Island 
Red can have a shorter span between pubic arch and 
keel and still have equal capacity, but any tendency 
toward .short keels should be avoided, just as in Plymouth 
Rocks. An obstacle in applying pigment tests in Reds 
i.- the horn-colored beak, which color also is frequently 
found in shanks and toes. For these reasons selection 
is not as readily made as with any of the bi'eeds prev- 
iously mentioned, nor is it possible to determine past 
production with the s.;me degree of accuracy. Even 
expert demonstrators do not find it possible to cull R. I. 
Reds as closely and as accurately as Leghorns or even 
Rocks and Wyandottes, but there is no practical diffi- 
culty in eliminating the poorest producers nor in select- 
ing the best, and with experience a high degree of accur- 
acy can be realized. 

Culling of Rhcde Island Rtds lilu-trated 

The color plates on page 7 illustrate how pigmenta- 
tion is modified by the horn- colored beak common in 
fowls of this breed. With experience however, this test 
can be applied with a good degree of accuracy. The 
photographs from which Figs. .S4 and (i.'-i were repro- 






FIG. 



i—A GOOU PRODUCIiVG YEARLINC. 
RHODE ISLAND RED HEN 
.Vote the full, deip Iiody and the clean-cut head. I'lioto 
ir-un .Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station. 



FIG. .S.^A POOR PRODl'CIXG YEARLING 
RHODE ISLAND RED HEN 
Compare lliis bird witli tlu- one sliowii in I-'i^- .^-1. iiotitiK 
particvdarly tlu- ditJercnce ui depth of hody and in expre.'ision 
of eye. Photo from .Storrs (fount l\\pri-iinent Station. 



duced, were taken expressly for this book, under the 
personal direction of Professors Kirkpatrick and Jones 
of the Poultry Department of Storrs (Conn.) Agricul- 
tural College. These two fowls here shown were select- 
ed from a typical farm flock of 300 on July 14, 1919. 
Trap-nest records were not available but estimating on 
the basis of external characters, the production of the 
hen shown in Fig. .54 (a yearling Rhode Island Red) 
from November 1,1918 to July 14, 1919, was 1.50 eggs. 
Note the full, deep body and clean, alert head. The 
yeaiiing Rhode Island Red hen shown in Fig. .55 was 
selected from the same flock, her estimated production 
for the same period being 70 eggs. This hen differed 
distinctly from the other with respect to body shape and 
appearance of head and eye. 

Fig. 56 shows a good spread of the pelvic arch, allow- 
ing three fingers to be readily placed between the ends 
of the pubic bones, whereas in the hen in Fig. 58 these 
liones are much closer together, allowing only two fingers 
to be placed between them, notwithstanding the fact that 
this hen was actively laying at the time the test was 
made. Such hens rarely make good records. 

In Fig. 57, which illustrates the capacity test, it will 
be seen that the demand for room in the body cavity of 
the high producer has forced the breastbone dowTiward 
until there is ample room for the whole width of the 
hand between the pubic bones and the rear end of the 
keel. This means that there is plenty of room for com- 
I)lete development of the egg organs and also capacity for 
the large digestive system necessary to maintain the hen 
and keep the egg organs properly supplied with egg-form- 
ing material, functioning properly. Compare the span of 
the hen in Fig. 59 with this one to see how contracted 
is the body cavity of the poor producer, hei- breastbone 
being- so close to the pubic bone that there is only room 
to admit two fingers between them. Fig. 61 shows these 
fowls killed and plucked in order to make plainer the 
marked difference in the spread of the pelvic arch. Fig. 
62 emphasizes the difference in abdominal capacity, the 



44 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 





FIG. 56— A "J-FINGER" RED HEN 
This is the high producing hen shown in Fig. 54. Photo 
from Storrs Experiment Station. 



FIG. 57— GOOD PRODUCING RHODE ISLAND RED HEN 
Posed to show span between pubic bones and keel. Photo 
from Storrs Experiment Station. 



fingers being placed in the same position as in Figs. 57 
and 59. Fig. 60 illustrates in another way the difference 
in size and development of the rear part of the body. 

Fig. 63 shows these high and low producing hens in 
profile with the high producer on the left. The body of 
this bird is full and round, having greater depth in the 
rear. The lines of the back and breastbones are nearly 
parallel in the high producer, while in the low producer 
the keel slopes toward the back. 

The ovary and oviduct development of these two hens 
is shown in the exceptional photograph reproduced in 
Chap. XVI. While both hens were laying when killed and 
there is an egg in process of formation in each oviduct, 
note in that illustration the difference in size of vent, 



size and length of oviduct, and observe particularly the 
number and size of developing yolks taken from each. 

Summary 

Pigmentation tests do not give as clear-cut results 
with Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Reds as with 
Leghorns. 

The presence of yellow pigment has a modifying effect 
upon the red color of comb, wattles, and ear lobes. 

Yellow pigment in comb, wattles, etc., can be plainly 
detected by pinching these parts. 

The best layers in large breeds are intelligent, ener- 
getic, and active, though not so nervous and high strung 
as Leghorns. 





\\\ ^ '^ 




FIG. 58— A "2-FINGER"' RED HEN 

This is the low producer shown in Fig. 55. See also Fig 59 for 
further evidence of inferiority as a layer. Photo from Storrs Ex- 
periment Station. 




FIG. 59— LOW PRODUCING RHODE ISLAND RED HEN 

Posed to show limited abdominal capacity, the keel being 
so close to the pubic bones that only two fingers can be placed 
between th'-m. Photo from Storrs Experiment Station. 



HOW TO CULL PLYMOUTH ROCKS, WYANDOTTES AND K. 1 REDS 



45 



Capacity tests are especially help- 
ful in culling fowls of large breeds. 

Egg laying capacity is indicated 
by a full breast, good spread of pelvic 
bones, and a large abdomen. 

In culling fowls of the breeds men- 
tioned in this chapter it is particu- 
larly important to note the conditions 
under which they have been kept. 

The observer must distinguish 
between fowls that have stopped lay- 
ing for the season and those that have 
stopped temporarily on account of be- 
coming broody. 

In any breed, fowls that approxi- 
mate standard size are better layers 
than those that ai-e conspicuously 





FIG oi;-HIGIi .\XD LOW PRODUCING RHODE 
ISLAND RED HENS 
Posed to show difference in development of rear of abdomen 
This illustration shows, with unusual clearness, the much greater 
abdominal capacity of the good producer on the left as compared 
with the poor producer on the right. Also compare the large, 
moist vent of the high producer with the small, puckered vent 
of the other. Both of these hens were laying at the time they 
were killed, but the one on the right had produced a compar- 
atively small number of eggs, and probably never would product- 
many. Photo from Storrs Experiment Station. 

over or under weight. 

Those who keep Plymouth Rocks g*.^ 
may breed them for standard weight ^ *• '^i^sw 
without any fear that such size will 
affect their productiveness. 

Where the upper mandible of the 
Plymouth Rock is so dark as to in- 
terfere with pigment tests, the lower 
mandible may be used. 

In selecting Plymouth Rocks, give 
special attention to length of keel; 
too-short keels are objectionable. 

Plymouth Rock hens with ex- 
tremely small combs are apt to pro- 
duce small eggs. 

Wyandottes have proved superior 
layers in numerous egg laying con- 
tests, particularly at Storrs. 

There should be no difficulty in 
applying pigment tests to most va- 



KIG. 61-HIGH AM< LuW PRODUCING RHODE ISLAND REDS 
Posed to show difference in spread of pubic bones. The high-producing hen is shown 
the reader's left in the illustration. Photo from Storrs E.xpcnment Station. 

rieties of Wyandottes, remembering, however, that such 
changes take place more slowly than in the Leghorns. 

Abdominal capacity in Wyandottes may be secured by 
depth, instead of length, as in Rocks and Reds. 

The triangle test for egg type cannot readily be ap- 
plied to Wyandotte hens. 

The extremely round or "snowball" type of Wyandotte 
should be avoided in the commercial laying flock, if it 
involves a "tucked-up" keel and, therefore, reduced ab- 
dominal capacity. 

Present tendency among Wyandotte breeders is to- 
ward moderate length of body. 

At the Fifth International Laying Contest, at the 
Storrs Experiment Station, Wyandottes led all other 
breeds in number and market value of eggs produced. 

In moderately good laying R. I. Reds, the keel line 
may be no more than horizontal with line of back. 

More skill is required in culling R. I. Reds than Leg- 
horns, but a good degree of accuracy can be attained. 
Rhode Island Reds are longer than Rocks and Wyan- 
dottes, and in type conform well to requirements as to 
egg-laying capacity. 

Reds should not be bred too narrow in the back, and 
short-keeled birds should be rejected. 

Pigment tests are less readily applied to Reds on ac- 
count of their horn-colored beaks and for this reason 
more attention inust be given to capacity. 




I-IG. 62-SPAN BETWEEN PUBIC BONE AND KEEL ILLUSTR.\TED 
IN DRESSED FOWLS 
The bird on the left in this illustration is the high-producing R. I. Red hen, shown 
in Fig. 54, and the one on the right, the low-producing hen shown in Fig. 55. Note the 
greater distance between keel and pubic bone, also the much rounder breast of the heavy 
layer, caused not by fat but by the more prominent sternal processes. t>'— - 
Experiment Station. 



Photo from Storrs 



CHAPTER \ 



Culling Methods Applied to Anconas, Campines, Minorcas, 
Orpingtons, Langsdans, Bralimas, etc. 

The So-called Popular Breeds Have no Monopoly in Egg Production--Remarkable Records Have Been Made by Repre- 
sentatives of Each of the Breeds Mentioned Above--General High Average Production is Readily At- 
tainable if the Fowls Are Bred Systematically to That End— Breeders Should See to It That Standard 
Requirements Are not Allowed to Conflict with Characters Essential to High Egg Production 




OPULARITY of Leghorns, Plymouth Rocks, 
Wyandottes, and R. I. Reds among practical 
poultry keepers is unquestioned. It is only 
now and then, relatively speaking, that other 
breeds receive serious consideration in estab- 
lishing a commercial laying flock. But it does not follow 
from this that fowls of these breeds most in popular favor 
are necessarily the only ones that can be brought to a 
general high average of production. As has been stated 
in Chapter II, the capacity for developing a high degree 
of productiveness is a common inheritance of fowls in 
practically all breeds. It is only necessary that they 
be systematically bred for this quality, and that no arti- 
ficial requirements are set up that oppose its development, 
or that make its achievement so difficult that it becomes 
a practical impossibility. 

There is, for example, no reason for believing that 
the inherit capacity of Leghorns for heavy production 
is any greater th:n that of any of the breeds mentioned 
in the title of this chapter. On the contrary, the egg 
laying contests in this and other countries have brought 
to public notice fowls in practically all of them that 
have made authoritative records that closely parallel the 
best performance of Leghorns. It rests entirely with 
breeders to say whether or not such records shall be 
more or less exceptional. This will be determined large- 
ly by their attitude toward "fancy"' points' — by whether 
they will develop these at the expense of practical quali- 
ties or, by systematically selecting and breeding from 
their best producers, will increase their productiveness 
until it equals or exceeds the performance of the best 
of the four popular breeds. 

With the exception of the Anconas and Light Brahmas 
pigment tests cannot be used in any of the breeds repre- 
sented in this chapter as all the rest are characterized 
by dark or black shanks and white skin. Those who 
have nonpigmented breeds should give especial attention 
to capacity, to head parts, etc., and will find that while 
a little more experience is required, they can, with prac- 
tice, reach a good degree of accuracy in identifying the 
layers, whether the purpose be to bring up the average 
of production in the general flock or to practice selective 
flock breeding, and thus year by year improve the laying 
qualities of their favorite breed. 

Culling Anconas 

Anconas are practically Leghorns, as regards their 
type and general characters, and the culling methods 
that are applied to Leghorns may all be used on Anconas 
with about equal accuracy. The beak of the Ancona is 
yellow with the upper mandible shaded with black. Ear 
lobes are white or creamy white, and the legs are yellow 
or mottled with black. 



The body type of the standard Ancona is practicall;. 
the same as that of the Leghorn. Breedert however, 
should bear in mind the objection to this type as ra'setl 
by the commercial poultry keeper who contends that the 
back and under curve of the standard Leghorn limits 
abdominal capacity. In other words, the commercial egg 
producer wants a fowl with more depth in the rear than 
is shown by the standard Leghorn, and generally he 
wants greater length of body. This subject is treated 
more fully in Chapter VII, but it is proper here to call 



i 





» 



# 



^ 



FIG. 63— HK;H AXD UJW PRODUCING RHODE ISLAND 
RED HENS IN PROFILE 
The high producer on the left shows a keel bone and back 
almost parallel, as compared with the tucked- up appearance oi 
the keel of the poor producer on the right. A still better pro- 
ducer would show rear end of the keel pushed out enough to 
give the body a slightly wedge -sliaped appearance. Photo from 
Storrs Experiment Station. 



CULLING METHODS APPLIED TO ANCONAS, CAMPINES, MINORC AS, ORPINGTONS. ETC. 47 




Tlin 



I-IC;. 64— A.V A.XCDNA WITH A RF.CURU OK .i.il KCC.S IX FIRST N'F.AR 
803 IX 3 YEARS 

This famous Sheppard Strain Aiicoiia not only inadc a spK-mlid t'n^l 
ijttt proved an exceptional layer in her second and tliird years also, 
daughters have made two-year records of .S96, 594. and 532 eggs respectiveU 



attention to the e.\i.-;tence of thi.s demand, and the .\n- 
cona breeder cannot afford to ifjnore it. The black in tht 
upper mandible of the Ancona and in the shank.-^, inter- 
feres somewhat with pigment test.';, but not to a serious 
f xtent. Head points are the same as for Leghorns, and 
the tests for activity and disposition are identical. 

Where the shanks are quite dark, the color of the 
bottom of the foot generally will be found a good index 
to pigmentation changes in this section. Fowls of this 
breed have not bsen well represented in egg laying con- 
tests, but the few that have been entered have made an 
excellent showing. In this connection it is fair to say 
that in comparing the records made at various contests 
by the different breeds, one is apt to get an altogether 
wrong impression of their relative laying ability if he 
considers only the number of high-producing fowls. or 
pens reported. Other things being equal, the breed hav- 
ing the largest number of entries will of course, always 
have the greatest number of high producers to its credit. 

To form a fair estimate of 
their performance there- 
fore, it is necessary to keep 
in mind the small number 
of fowls of the less popular 
breeds entered in laying 
contests. Where this is 
done, the relative showing 
made by Anconas and oth- 
er comparatively neglected 
breeds should prove highly- 
encouraging to those truly 
interested in developing 
their productive possibili- 
ties in full measure. 

Particular attention is 



.1 li. 




FIG. 
Has 



—WHITE ORPIXCTDX 
HE.X 
record of 207 eggs. 



callc<l to Fig. (>4 illustrating an 
Ancona hen which has not only 
made an extraordinary egg record 
but has transmitted her ability to 
her offspring, as is shown by the 
records made by her daughters. 
While photos of fowls as they are 
ordinarily posed are apt to be mis- 
leading as to the actual appearance 
of the birds, it will readily be seen 
that Queen Bess and the heavy-lay- 
ing Ancona shown in Fig. 68 fully 
meet modern requirements as to ab- 
dominal capacity, etc. 

Culling C'ampines 

Campines are similar to Leg- 
hoins in general appearance and 
characters. The respective standard 
weights of hens and pullets are the 
same, but the Campines are longer 
in body, thus perhaps giving more 
body capacity. The beak is horn 
color and the shanks leaden blue. 
A good type of heavy-laying Cam- 
pine is shown in Fig. 70. Pigmenta- 
tion tests ai'e out of the question 
with fowls of this breed. 

It will be found, however, that 
capacity and condition tests may 
readily be applied, and by the "feel" 
of the alidomen one can Icai'n much in regard to their pres- 
ent and past performance. The observer who finds a 
Campine with well-spread pubic bones, a good span be- 
tween these and the rear of keel, a soft, pliable, thin- 
skinned abdomen, ])romineiit sternal processes, and good 
head points generally will unhesitatingly place her in the 
good to high-producing class though, in the absence of 
pigmentation, he may have to be a little more conserva- 
tive in estimating exact production, since persistence in 
laying or length of the productive period is not so readily 
determined. 

(^ulling Minorcas 
Minorcas belong to the same class (Mediterranean) as 
Leghorns, but are larger, longer in body, and excellent 
layers of white eggs of the largest size, being especially 
valued by persons who cater to high-class trade in table 
eggs where white shells are at a premium. 

The greater length of liody in Minorcas, as compared 
with Leghorns, appears to be a distinct practical advant- 
age, and they can be breil 
to a high average of pro- 
duction, particularly where 
breeders avoid going to ex- 
tremes in weight, size of 
comb, etc. No other breed 
laying white eggs equals 
the Minorca in size of eggs 
produced, their only com- 
petitor in this respect be- 
ing Light Brahmas, whose 
eggs are about equal in 
size but with brown shells. 
The records of the fowls 
.shown in Figs. 69 and 71, 
from pens entered in Mis- 




IIG. 


66— BLACK ()KI'I.X(;T(>X 
H K.X 


Has 


a record of 


M7 


eggs. 



48 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG 67-BlFl- ORPINGTON 

HEN 

Has a recoril of 223 eggs. 



souri (Mountain Grove) 
Jjaymg Contests, show 
what is possible in the 
way of high egg produc- 
tion in this breed. These 
record layers plainly show 
capacity. Photos of these 
hens were taken Nov. 1st. 
Minorcas have black 
beaks, and black or slate 
colored legs and cannot 
be culled by pigment 
tests, for which reason 
the breeder will find it 
necessary to study more 
closely the general type 
of his birds, their capa- 
city, condition, and head points. To what extent the large 
combs of Minorcas are associated with the extra-large 
eggs produced by them has not been clearly shown, but it 
obviously is not practical to go to extremes in comb 
development, particularly where severe winters are to be 
expected. Large combs do afford exceptional opportuni- 
ties however, for observing differences in shape, texture, 
condition, etc. To the careful observer such combs tell 
a surprising number of details as to productiveness. See 
Chapter VI for full instructions in this method of culling. 

Culling Orpingtons 

Orpingtons have attained a fair degree of popularity 
as "utility" fowls, though they are not often found in the 
yards of extensive commercial poultry keepers. The gen- 
eral appearance of Orpingtons is "beefy", which along 
with the characteristic white skin no doubt interferes 
greatly with their popularity in many quarters. There is 
no room to question their excellence as egg producers 
however. The records made by different varieties of 
Orpingtons at contests held in this and in other countries 
have shown that they have this character developed to a 
high degree. A few photos of 
heavy-laying Orpingtons are re- 
produced in this chapter (see 
Figs. 65 to 67, also 72). Whole 
pages could be filled with such, 
showing only fowls with official 
contest records. 

It rests with Orpington breed- 
ers to determine the future of 
this truly valuable breed. Selec- 




FIG. 



Has 



68— A HE.\VY-LAVING 

ANCONA 
a record of 218 eggs. 



comb. 



tion for high producers 
in the breeding pen, 
avoidance of extremes as 
regards roundness of 
shape, looseness of feath- 
ering, and size, will an- 
ticipate eveiy practical 
objection that the com 
mercial poultry keeper 
can urge against them. 
The white beak and 
shanks of the Orpington 
eliminate pigment tests 
and, as in the case of most 
of the other breeds men- 
tioned in this chapter, de- 
pendence must be placed 

in capacity tests, development and shape of eye, 
etc., along with activity and intelligence. 

In all breeds loosenees of feathering is held to be an 
undersirable character in layers, and as there is a marked 
tendency to this in many strains of Orpingtons, special 
attention is here directed to it. It may be well to repeat 
here that while many of the "points" used in culling are 
still more or less tentatively held, the tendency of expert 
demonstrators to discount loose feathering appears to 
rest on a fairly well-proved theory regarding its undesir- 
ability, and Orpington breeders can well afford to take 
this subject under serious consideration. 

Culling Langshans 

Langshans belong in what usually is termed the meat 
class, though their standard weights are no greater than 
those of Plymouth Rocks. The ideal Langshan stands 
much higher on its legs than the Plymouth Rock and is 
rounder in body, looser in feathering, with lightly feath- 
ered legs, black beak and shanks, and a white skin. That 
they are capable of making excellent production records 
is shown by reports of laying contests in Australia and 
at the National Contest at Moun- 
tain Grove. To meet the require- 
ments of the culling operator, ex- 
treme development in length of 
leg, roundness of body, and loose- 
ness of feathering must be avoid- 
ed. The illustrations here given 
show that it is possible to com- 
bine excellent production how- 
ever, with standard type. This 





PIG 69— A HIGH RECORD 
BLACK MINORCA 



FIG 70— TYPE OF HKAVV-L-WING CAMPINE 
This hen, owned by Homestead Campine Farm, 
does not have a season's trap-nest record but was an 
exceptional winter layer, and during the breeding sea- 
son laid at the rate of 5 and 6 eggs a week. 




FIG. 71— A 200-EGG BLACK 
MINORCA 



CULLING METHODS APPLIED TO ANCONAS, CAMPINES, MINOKCAS, ORPINGTONS, ETC. 49 




FIG. 72— BLACK LANGSHAX- 
RECORD, 204 EGGS 



breed deserve.s a higher 
standing among "utility" 
poultry keepers than it 
now has. The distinctive 
breed characters previ- 
ously mentioned will need 
especial attention in cull- 
ing, especially if tliis is 
done with a view to selec- 
tive flock breeding. Re- 
member, however, that 
abdominal capacity may 
be secured to a large ex- 
tent by depth as well as 
by length, as in the case 
of Wyandottes. Lang- 
shans with excellent records are illustrated in Figs. 72 
and 74. Both of these hens were in pens entered in 
National (Mo.) Egg Laying Contests. 

Culling Light Brahmas 
The average commercial poultry keeper, who is apt to 
associate comparatively small size with high egg pro- 
duction, seldom considers Light Brahmas (the largest of 
all the breeds recognized in the Standard) as having any 
possibilities in the way of record egg production, classing 
them almost invariably as a "meat" breed. As a matter 
of fact, some of the highest egg records ever made are 
credited to fowls of this breed, and while a greater measure 
of ability is required in their management than with fowls 
of the smaller breeds, they are, when properly handled, 
excellent producers, in spite of their size. As is the case 
with other loose-feathered fowls, the roundness of the 
Brahma is more a matter of plumage than of body shape, 
and the standard Brahma, if not bred for extreme develop- 
ment of exhibition points, has ample capacity. In New 
England especially, Light Brahmas have always been 
more or less in favor as producers of market eggs. In 
uniformity of color and in size of eggs produced, this 
breed has no equal. Light Brahmas in laying contests 
have not particularly distinguished themselves, though 
this may be due in part to the fact that they are not at 
all likely to do their best under contest conditions where 
rations and methods of feeding are more or less stand- 
ardized and, as a rule, much better adapted to the re- 
quirements of smaller and more active fowls. 

One of the 
first 300-egg pro- 
ducers on record 
was a Light 
Brahma -bred and 
-and owned by the 
veteran I. K. 
Felch. More re- 
cently we have 
"Molly Welling- 
ton" (see Fig. 
73) with a record 
of 335 eggs in 
twelve months, 
also a P e 1 c h- 
strain Brahma. It 
is not to be ex- 
pected that high 
egg production 
will be secured 

.i— A LIGHT BRAHMA WITH 

RECORD OF 335 EGGS in Lig^t Brahmas 




along with extreme weight, but the breeder who adheres 
to the normal size for fowls of this ibreed will find them 
responsive in a marked degree to well-directed efforts to 
secure greater productiveness. 

Light Brahmas have yellow skin, shanks, etc., and 
while they carry a dark strip down the upper mandible 
and have feathered legs, these offer no serious difficulty 
to the application of pigment tests. Owing to their size 
it is to be expected that pigmentation changes will take 
place more slowly than in Leghorns, or even in Plymouth 
Rocks. In selecting Brahmas for the breeding pen, the 
breeder will want to avoid extreme length of legs, short- 
ness of body, coarseness of skin, and the general beefy 
tendency to which some strains in this breed are inclined. 
Otherwise he should have no difficulty in combin- 
ing high average production along with good size and 
with that beauty of plumage which is one of the striking 
characters of this breed. 

Summary 
Fine egg records have been made by fowls of all the 
breeds described in this chapter. 

Excellent egg laying strains can be developed in any 
of these breeds if systematically bred for this quality. 

Pigment tests cannot be used in connection with cull- 
ing fowls of these breeds, with the exception of Anconas 
and Light Brahmas. 

Where pigment tests are 
not applicable, special at- 
tention must be given to 
capacity tests. 

Anconas are practically 
Leghorns, and can be treat- 
ed like them in culling. 

Breeders of Anconas 
who wish to increase the 
popularity of their fowls 
should be careful not to go 
to extremes in type, but 
should note carefully the 
requirements of commercial 
poultry keepers as regards 
a"bdominal capacity. 

Where the shanks of 
Anconas are too dark for 
pigment tests, the bottom 
of the foot should be con- 
sidered. 

Campines are similar to Leghorns, and can be culled 
in the same way, except that pigment tests cannot be 
used. 

Minorcas are of good size and long in body, and 
therefore more accurately culled by capacity tests than 
fowls of smaller breeds. 

Many regard it as probable that the large combs of 
Minorcas are associated with the extra-large eggs pro- 
duced by them. 

While the general appearance of the Orpington is 
"beefy", fowls of this breed have made some extra- 
ordinary records in egg laying contests. 

Excellent laying strains in Orpingtons are being devel- 
oped by breeders who avoid extremes in regard to exhibi- 
tion qualities. 

Looseness of feathering is considered an undesirable 
character of good layers — a point that needs to be 
especially considered by Orpington breeders. 

Langshans, while belonging to what is termed the 
"meat class", have made extraordinary records in laying 
contests. 

Extremes in length of leg, roundness of body, and 
looseness of feathering, are to be avoided in developing 
laying strains of Langshans. 

Abdominal capacity in Langshans is secured by depth 
rather than length of body, being similar in this respect 
to Wyandottes. 

Light Brahmas are capable of great development as 
egg producers where they are not bred for extra-large 
size and extreme exhibition qualities. 




FIG 7A — BI.Al Is l.,\.\Loll.\.N- 
RECORD, 200 EGGS 



CHAPTER VI 



Culling by General Appearance, Conduct and Molt 

The Laying Ability of Fowls is Indicated by a Number of Details in Appearance and Conduct -Intelligence Is a Highly 

Important Character in Good Layers The Molt an Extra-valuable Point in Selecting the Heaviest 

Layers for Next Year's Beeeding Pen-How to Estimate the Date When Hen 

Stopped Laying by Her Wing Molt 




|AREFUL observance of the general appearance 
and conduct of fowls is an important aid in 
determining the probable value of fowls as 
layers, independent of pigment tests, pelvic 
arch measurements, etc. It is not possible 
to estimate actual production in this way with much ac- 
curacy, but no one who has cultivated the habit of care- 
fully observing his hens should go far wrong, at any sea- 
son of the year, in classifying them into layers and non- 
layers. 

In considering the fowl's general appearance, state of 
heulth should, of course, receive first notice. Fowls that 
e.xhibit any of the signs of low vigor or health (see Chap- 
ter XI) are hopeless from the viewpoint of production, no 
matter what good "points" they may appear to have. 
One evidence of good health is bodily activity. All fowls 
are naturally quite active, and slow-moving, sluggish, 
indolent birds are never highly productive and seldom 
are in good health. A popular measure of activity in 
older fowls is the length of the toenails. The active, bus\- 
fowl that is on the move all day long, scratching and dig- 
ging in the litter or in the run, searching for grain, 
worms, etc., is apt to have comparatively short toenails. 
On the other hand, a hen with overgrown toenails is 
almost certain to be an indolent, if not unhealthy, individ- 
ual, and therefore, of little value as a layer. However, 
a good deal depends upon the conditions under which the 
birds are kept. For example, fowls on concrete floors 
will have much shorter toenails than equally active ones 
on dirt floors or on open range. 

Along with poor health may be includsd. as undesir- 
able qualities, all important physical defects, such a.; 
crooked backs, lameness, etc. Among these, though not 
noticeable unless the fowls are handled, may be included 
crooked breastbones. At Cornell University, it has been 
found that there is a lai'ger percentage of crooked breast- 
bones in heavy layers than in msdium or poor ones, due 
possibly to the fact that the best producers draw more 
heavily upon material stored in the body so that the 
strength of their bones is below that of poor layers. In 
view of this fact, it is not advisable to discard fowls sim- 
ply because they have deformed breastbones, but they 
certainly should not be used in the breeding pens, as this 
character or the tendency to it appears to be more or 
less hereditary. 

Appetite is a distinguishing character of the good 
layer. The fowl that is constantly on the hunt for some- 
thing to eat — that never seems quite satisfied with what 
is given her — is almost invariably producing heavily. 
A.ppetite is much more closely associated with production 
than is sometimes realized. Attendants at egg contests, 
for example, have found that they can estimate with a 
good degree of accuracy the probable production during 
any given week, toy the appetites of the fowls. A falling 
off in feed consumption is a pretty certain indication 



that the egg yield for the ensuing week will show a more 
or less definite slump, and when consumption picks up 
and is in excess of a corresponding previous period the 
attendant knows that the egg yield is going to increase, 
and knows this in advance of any recorded improvement. 

The disposition of fowls is regarded by close observers 
as an important indication of their probable value as 
layers. .\t the Vineland Contest for e.xaniple, hens are 
classified as to disposition into "wild", "distant"', and 
"tame", and it has been found that the "distant" hens are 
almost invariably the best layers. These are the hen/, 
that are neither wild and suspicious, constantly on the 
watch for trouble, nor so tame that they are constantly 
under the feet of the attendant. Extremely quiet and 
gentle dispositions are rarely associated with the highly 
developed, nervous organization that goes along with 
heavy production. The hen that, 'while not especially 
wild, yet keeps her distance — is unafraid but ready for 
emergencies — is the hen that lays. These distinctions as 
to disposition, while more readily noted in Leghorns, can 
also be applied in some degree to fowls of larger breeds. 

Regardless of whether the observer believes in a 
special "egg type" or not, he cannot question the fact 
that there can be no ability to produce eggs on a large 
scale unless there is ample capacity for digestion of food 
and abundant room for development of the egg organs. 
Consequently abdominal capacity is one of the first points 
to be noted, and indication of it may be accepted as an 
important point in favor of the individual. However, the 
beginner will need to exercise due care in his observa- 
tions, especially with large fowls in which an accumula- 
tion of fat in the abdomen is apt to give it a distended 
appearance, often mistaken for large capacity when the 
birds are not handled. With the appearance of abdominal 
capacity therefore, 
should be associat- 
ed softness, pli- 
ability, and a loose, 
comparatively thin 
skin. While a rea- 
sonable amount of 
fat is always 
found in heavy- 
laying fowls, ex- 
cept possibly to- 
ward the close of 
a long laying pe- 
riod, any tendency 
to extreme fat 
should be avoided. 
Avoid coarse, raw- 
boned, and beefy 
individuals, which 
may or may not ,,„- ,^,, _,,j.^^^ ^j^,,^^ j^^^^^^.^ 

be inclined to aC- RED HEX. Photo from .v. J. Ex. Sta. 




CULLING BY GENERAL APPEARANCE, CONDUCT AND MOLT 



51 



cumulate fat, but which in any case are rarely profitaijle 
producers of eggs. 

The character of the feather coat should receive atten- 
tion, as it is believed that loosely feathered fowls are 
much less apt to be good layers than those whose feathers 
are reasonably close and tight. Looseness of featherint;-. 
as a rule, goes along with coarseness, slow maturity, and 
other characters associated with poor production 
Significance of Head I'oints 

A great deal of importance is attached to head point.- 
in the selection of laying hens. Included in this term are 
such characters as comb, wattles, beak, face, eyes, ear 
lobes, etc. The heads shown in Fig. 76 illustrate points 
that are sought in the high producer and those that ar? 
to be avoided as indicating inferior laying ability. It per- 
haps should be e,\plained that some undesirable points are 
indicative of general or permanent inferiority, while 
others simply show that the fowl is not productive when 
examined. 

The comb is regarded as an especially good inde.N to 
the condition or activity of the ovary, and is espcciall\ 
helpful in culling Leghorns, etc. When the ovary is 
developing yolks at a rapid rate, the comb, whether large 
or small, will be engorged with blood, giving it sometimes 



iiuni I'RoDrcKk 
rri.i, L.wiNC, 

1. I'ull, hripht. w;ixy cimih 

and w.ittlcs. 

2. TIlin fact*. 

.>. Pale Im'.iW. t-yt- riii^;s. 

far Iol»i*s, iacc. 
■). l-'.ill e,Tr loin-. 
5. IJriKlit. round t-yr. 



I.uW I'KnOrcKk 
.MIT I,.\VI.\('. 
Siiiall, hard, flriccl coniii 

and \\ iltlfs. 
Kat face 

^"ollow licak. t-yr riiijrs. 
car lohes. face. 
U'riiiklcd car lobes. 
Dull, snakv eve. 



Side View of Head 





Front View of Head 




IIG. 76— HE.AD P.ARTS OK HIGH A.\D LOW PKODLCERS 
The photos shown above are excellent illustrations of 
the appearance of comb, wattles, and face in fiigh and low- 
producing fowls respectivelv. Photo from Cornell L'niversity. 



the appearance of being swollen as if ironi some inju!;,. 
It will be bright red in color, warm, and with a waxy 
feeling. If the fowd is one that has laid for a time and 
has then gone through a rest period, her comb as she ap- 
proaches laying again will present a slight scaly appear- 
ance. 

.Alicr the fowl gets well underway in laying, the con- 
diiio.i ana appeal ance of the comb change. It still re- 
:iia.ns large, but is not so warm to the touch and without 
the peculiar swollen appearance which it had just when 
beginning to lay. The color then is not so bright and the 
blade may be quite dark at times due to the fact that 
the blood is being directed to the ovary and oviduct 
rather than to the comb and other extremities. After 
the fowl ceases laying, the comb shrinks in size, but before 
this shrink.ige become.; perceptible there is another 
change, the comb now becoming lighttr in color and with 
a powdery appea.anje not amounting to a scale but dif- 
ferent enough from the appearance of the comb of the 
laying hen .--o that many observers feel that they can 
more promptly picu out he.is that have stopped laying by 
applying this test tlian in any other manner. 

A fa.r.y good general t:st is the shape of the comb, 
in sing.e con.b bird:, the [-.oints of the good layer's e, mb 
generally are broad at the base as compared with the 
■■pencil'' points of the poor producer. The rocker-shape. I 
comb— this is, one that follows the contour of the neck- 
is be.ieved to be a good indication of productiveness, while 
a comb with blade sticking up at the rear is apt to be 
worn by a distinctly poor layer While this point appear.-- 
to "hit" a good deal oftener than it "misses", it is not 
to be too implicitly i-elied upon, as there are numerous 
exceptions to the rule. 

The eyes are well worth careful study. The heavy 
layer generally will have prominent eyes and these will 
be more or less parallel in the head, whereas the eyes of 
the poor layer will "toe in" toward the beak. According 
to i)r. Kent of Cornell University, the eye of the heavy 
layer usually is inclined to be oval rather than round, with 
the eyeball located in the center or back of the center, 
wl'.ile the eye of the poor layer is round or, if oval, will 
have the eyeball located toward the front. This is wc'l 
illustrated in Color Plates I.\ and X, also XI and XII. 
Tests for (Jeneral .Vppearance and 
Condticl .\pplied to Hens 

The preceding comments in regard to appearance and 
conduct apply with about equal force to both pullets and 
hens. In observing the latter however, there are some 
indications of good laying or a lack of it that are not 
generally noticeable in the case of pullets, such as tend- 
ency to overfatness; dull or snaky eyes, quite inconsistent 
with the nervous temperament of the good layer; empty 
crops at night, a condition never associated with good 
egg production; too much time spent on the perches dur- 
ing the day and all such indications of poor health oi- 
indolence. .Among hens of the larger breeds bagging 
down behind is especially to be watched for and such 
birds promptly discarded. The development of spurs in 
hens is usually regarded as indicating old age and a con- 
sequent failure of the egg organs to function, resulting in 
the development of secondary sexual characters. If, along 
with the spurs, there is an abnormal development of comb, 
approaching the appearance of that of a male, it may In 
accepted as certain that the egg organs have permanently 
ceased to function. The development of spurs alone, 



52 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



however, is not a reliable indication of this change, as 
these frequently appear as the result of an accident or 
scaly leg. Spurs have frequently been observed on com- 
paratively young hens in which production was known 
to be fully equal to that of the rest of the flock. 
Culling Pullets 
It is to be hoped that the reader will not make the 
common mistake of depending chiefly on the annual cull- 
ing campaign to detect his nonlayers but will, by con- 
stant observation and repeated culling, get rid of most 
of his inferior pullets by the time they have reached 
maturity. The poultry keeper who is in earnest about 
keeping up the efficiency of his flock and maintaining 
economic egg production, will begin culling almost as 
soon as the chicks are hatched. Weakly or sickly chicks, 
or those that are crippled or handicapped by any form of 
physical disability or malformation, should be disposed of 
without delay. Even though they may live and grow, 
they will do so at a slow rate and the feed used in raising 
them will cost more than the value of the chick, whether 
it is ultimately sold as a table fowl or, worse still, is kept 
in the laying flock. Evidences of constitutional weakness 
that may develop during the growing period are indica- 
tions of inferiority that should not be ignored. It has 
been clearly demonstrated that constitutional vigor is 
vitally important in heavy production. No matter what 
the heredity of a fowl may be, and no matter what its 
apparent capacity for production, if it is lacking in con- 
stitutional vigor, in ability to digest and assimilate large 
quantities of food and transfoi-m this into the delicate 
and highly nutritious compounds contained in the egg, 
its productiveness is certain to be only moderate at best 
and the danger of loss through disease is greatly in- 
creased and cannot wisely be ignored. 

One evidence of inferior laying ability in pullets is 
slow development. As a rule it has been found that the 
first pullets of a given brood to come to maturity and 
begin laying are the best layers in that brood. Where 
the poultry keeper does not know the age of the pullets, 
it is difficult for him to judge accurately with regard to 
their development since he is apt to confuse the slow 
developing pullet of an early brood with a rapidly matur- 
ing pullet of a later one. It is desirable, therefore, to 
know the exact age of the pullets— information that the 
poultry keeper readily can provide by a simple system of 
leg banding that will enable him to distinguish between 
different hatches. It is not necessary to employ numbered 
leg bands for this purpose. The simple, round, colore<l 
bands now in common use will answer as well, and the 
different broods are more readily distinguished. A per- 
manent record, if desired, may be provided by the use of 
the toe punch. 

The comb of the pullet, even though quite small is, as 
has already been suggested, a good index to the condition 
of the ovary and therefore a fairly certain indication of 
the approach of laying maturity. The beginner may 
have some difficulty in distinguishing between the bright 
red color of the healthy, immature pullet's comb and that 
of the maturing pullet, but there is a distinct difference, 
and with a little handling of the birds the caretaker can 
soon become familiar with the engorged appearance, and 
the peculiar waxy, or "oily" feel, which is a distinct 
characteristic of the fowl that is about to lay. 

For instructions in estimating the probable future egg 
yield of pullets see Chapter X. 



The Molt in Its Relation to Egg Production 

The renewal of the worn-out feather coat regularly 
takes place in late summer and early fall, and while this 
is the natural time for the molt, it proves a serious incon- 
venience to the poultryman since it results in a stoppage 
in egg production just when the season of highest prices 
is beginning. In growing stock the feathers are changed 




l-IG. 77— HEAVY LAVING HENS USUALLY ARE LATE 
MOLTERS 
This Leghorn hen laid 120 eggs up to October 16th, when 
{jliotographed. She produced 23 more eggs before stopping to molt 
and began laying again on January 7th. Photo from North Caro- 
lina E.Kperiment Station. 

several times, but so gradually that it takes careful work 
to determine with certainty the exact number of molts. 
Referring to the investigations at Cornell, it is stated 
in "Hints to Poultrymen" (New Jersey Experiment Sta- 
tion) that "by staining the feathers in the wings and tail, 
it was observed that three successive lots of feathers 
were produced in the period between the fourth or fifth 
weeks and the thirteenth week. This sequence of molts 
corresponds closely with the molts of young wild birds. 
After the thirteenth week no changes were observed until 
just before the young birds reached maturity, when they 
went through a complete change, the females taking on 
their full plumage. In these early molts, as in the later 
annual ones, the sequence with which the feathers are 
changed is practically the same, namely, the older feath- 
ers are always shed first." 

How the Molt Progresses 

The regular order for the molt is first, neck feathers, 
then body, tail, and wing. In the neighborhood of three 
months are required for the complete molt when it takes 
place early. In late molting the change appears to pro- 
ceed at a more rapid rate, and sometimes is not complete, 
many old feathers being carried over. In a slow molt 
the feathers drop a few at a time and in some cases the 
change is scarcely noticeable. The neck molt often 
begins as early as May and a few pin feathers may be 
found in this section four to six weeks before the body 
feathers begin to drop. 

The marked irregularity in the occurrence of the molt 
in various individuals suggests the possibility of develop- 
ing still wider variations in molting dates. For example, 
in almost any large flock it will be found that some hens 



CULLING BY GENERAL APPEARANCE, CONDUCT AND MOLT 



53 



molt as early as July, while others may retain their old 
plumage until well along in winter, and occasionally one 
will go through the entire winter season without molting 
at all. It is common knowledge also that the molt can 
be hastened or retarded to some extent, and there are 
some practical poultrymen who believe, or at least hope, 
that strains of fowls may presently be developed in which 
the molt will proceed so gradually and be extended over 
so wide a period of time that it will scarcely have any 
direct effect upon production. 

In the adult molt there is a great deal of variation in 
the way in which the molt normally progresses. In some 
cases the fowls lose almost all of their feathers at one 
time, while others molt slowly, section by section. A 
good illustration of this sectional molt is presented in 
Fig. 79. Dr. B. F. Kaupp of the North Carolina Experi- 
ment Station, who furnished the photo from which this 
illustration was reproduced states that "the feather tracts 
'are molted complete, also that every other tract is molted 
at a time. The feather tract of the wing is completely 
molted, but not the tract on either side, which will not 
molt until the feathers in the bare tract have grown out." 

Season and climate probably have some influence upon 
the date and duration of the molt, but there are few defin- 
ite data on these points. Apparently fowls that molt in 
the summertime require considerably more time for the 
operation than those that molt in cold weather. About 
six weeks are required for growing a new feather, but 
the length of the time required to make a complete change 
in plumage will be affected by the rapidity with which 
the old feathers are dropped, also, possibly, by difference 
in rapidity of the growth of new feathers. At Cornell 
University where several flocks were under observation, 
the average time taken for a complete molt was 9.5 days, 
or slightly over three months. 

Effect of Molt Upon Production 

To the poultry keeper, the chief interest in the molt 
is with reference to its effect upon egg production. It is 
generally assumed that the almost complete cessation 
in fall production, observed in flocks of hens one year 
old or over, is due to the coming on of the molt. As con- 
trasted with this, some investigators are of the opinion 
that egg production controls the molt rather than that 
the molt controls egg production. In other words, it is 
held that as long as hens continue to produce eggs the 
molt will be postponed, but that an interruption in pro- 
duction at almost any time from July on, is apt to be 
followed by molting. For example, wide publicity was 
given to a plan for forcing the molt which was suggeste<l 
as a means by which the poultrj' keeper could get his 
hens through the molt and have them come into laying 
in the fall, after which it was expected that they would 
continue laying throughout the winter. 

Utilizing the fact already noted — -that a break in egg 
production must precede the molt — those who wished to 
produce a "forced" molt simply cut down the rations of 
the fowls thus stopping egg production. To do this it 
often was necessary to reduce the feed to one-third or 
less of the quantity normally consumed by the fowls, and 
to continue these starvation rations for two to four weeks. 
As soon as production ceased and the feathers had begun 
to drop freely the feed was increased and gradually 
changed to a good laying ration. July or August usually 
was selected for the attempt so that the molt might be 
completed and production resumed early in the fall. It 



was found that there is no serious difficulty in securing 
an early molt in this way, though it often appears to be 
only a partial one, the finish occurring later in the fall. 
The forced molt has few advocates now, not because it is 
not a comparatively simple matter to bring it on almost 
at will, any time after the first of July, but because 
there is no practical advantage in doing so, since expecta- 
tions in regard to fall and winter production are seldom 
if ever fully realized. 

What actually happens where the forced molt is at- 
tempted is to lose the eggs the hens would naturally 
produce during late summer and early fall with no com- 
pensating winter production. For example, in one experi- 
ment a pen of 27 hens that had laid 321 eggs in August 
was divided September 1st, and 13 were put through the 
forced molt while the rest were kept on full feed. During 
September the forced-molt pen laid 26 eggs- while the 
other laid 147. In October the production was 3 and 128 




FIG. 78— BEWARE OF THE EARLY MOLTER 
This S. C. White Leghorn hen laid 81 eggs in her secoii*! 
year, stopping on June 20th, wiien she went into a full molt, 
after whicli she did not resume laying again until March of the 
following year. At the time photo was taken. ,\ugust 16th, her 
new coat of feathers was thoroughly grown except the tail feathers 
whicli had not reached full sire. Photo from North Carolina Ex 
periment Station. 

respectively. There was no noticeable difference in the 
winter production of the two pens so that the adopting 
of the early-molting method meant simply a loss of 250 
eggs in total production. 

Early and Late Molters as Winter Layers 

It is now generally conceded that the late molters are 
the best layers in the flock and, as a rule, these hens 
prove to be the best layers the following winter, in spite 
of their late molt. No definite date can be named, before 
which fowls may be considered early molters and poor 
layers, and after which they may be considered late molt- 
ers and, therefore, desirable to be retained in the flock. 
.A.S extremes, July and August certainly are "early", and 
December clearly is "late"; but in considering the mid- 
season molters for their probable egg-laying ability, other 
tests also must be applied. 

It should be remembered in this connection, that while 
late molters are practically certain to be the best layers 
during the following year, the medium-late molters, that 
is those that stop laying and molt earlier in the fall, often 
prove to be the best winter layers. The hens that do not 
begin to molt until November may not secure their new 
coats and be ready to resume laying until winter is well 
along. Many believe, also, that the medium layers will 



54 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. 79— SECTIONAL MOLT IN HKNS 
The above is an excellent illustration of the way in which 
liens sometimes molt in sections. That is. one section or feather 
tract molts while those adjacent to it retain the olil coat until 
the molting section has acquired its new feathers. I'lmto from the 
North Carolina Kxperiment Statioti, 



produce the best hatching eggs early in the sea.son. This 
should make it clear that while late molting is an almost 
certain indication of heavy laying it is not wise to go to 
extremes in selection by this method. While the total 
production of medium-late molters may be somewhat 
lower, the net profit realized from them may be even 
greater than that secured from the extremely late molters. 
Speaking generally the practical thing to do is to keep 
production up to the maximum point throughout the fall 
avoiding, as far as possible, anything that will tend to 
check production and give the molt a chance to begin. 
The hens that under this treatment go through an early 
molt and have their new coats fully developed by the 
last of September may safely be eliminated as undesir- 
able. All that molt later than this should be kept over, 
provided pigmentation and capacity tests and head points 
are favorable, while tlie extremely late molters, if in good 
physical condition, scarcely need to be subjected to any 
other tests unless to be used as breeders. Where, as 
sometimes happens, there is difficulty in distinguishing 
between extremely late molters and those that have molt- 
ed so eai'ly that their new coats have already begun to 
show wear, pigment tests usually will settle the question. 



Ihe Wing Molt as an Indication of Productiveness 

Flight Feathers Are Molted in Regular Order, and Renewed in a Certain Time Hence, the State of the Wing Molt 

Shows Just How Long the Hen Has Been Unproductive 

By FR.\NKLANE L. SEWELI, 



T 



HE experienced poultry husbandman who keeps daily 
accurate records and observes causes and effects, 
learns that nothing that affects his birds comes 
just by accident. There are long-established natural laws 
governing all that happens. The beautiful plumage of 
wild birds never ceases to interest the lover of nature, 
and the plumage that so marvelously clothes our domestic 
fowls and gives them a new dress every year causes the 
fancier to marvel at the all-controlling mind that evolved 
these laws of nature. 

Students watching the progress of their fowls in prep- 
aration for exhibition have often noticed that it requires 
about six weeks for them to molt and grow the larger 
feathers. Credit for bringing out the significance of this 
rest period, showing the relation between the production 
of eggs at this time and the length of time it takes to 
molt and grow new wing flight plumage, must be given to 
Dr. 0. B. Kent of Cornell University whose interesting 
lecture en this subject at the Cornell Jud.sing School 
forms the basis of this article. 

Tiap-nest records have proved the way wing-flight 
feathers are molted to be a fair indication of the hen's 
period of egg production during certain seasons of the 
summer and autumn. At such times the hen may tak9 
somewhat protracted periods of rest, or may quit laying 
altogether in which case .she is apt to turn her attention 
to growing- new plumage. 

During the past year Prof. Kent has been studiously 
observing the manner of and the time required for bleach- 
ing the skin, shanks, and plumage of the yellow pigment 
which is taken from the bird's body by continued egg 
production. While in daily contact with the birds and 
their trap-nest records, he studied also the molting of the 
wings of wild birds and the latter suggested to him that 
ther? should be some correlation between the periods of 



laying and molting in our domestic fowl. The result of 
his study is a revelation tj fanciers, and the knowledge 
of the existence of such a correlation gives them a keener 
interest in observing the changes of plumage in the wings, 
which section has always been significant to the breeder 
of quality in color and vitality. 

The hen's history and her capacity for egg production 
is not fully indicated by any one section. Those who wish 
to become expert judgss of fowls — of their utility quali- 
ties combined with those show-quality points already 
standardized, have a broad field for investigation. Earnest 
students like Prof. Kent are constantly learning some- 
thing new^or perhaps we should say, becoming conscious 
of some old law that breeders of poultry have never ap- 
plied in any practical way. 

Kindly note the seven illustrations of "wings shown on 
page 55. In Wing 1 the numbers one to ten show the 
order in which the wing flights are molted normally. 
When the wing begins to molt the first feather to be 
replaced by a new one is the first inside flight feather 
marked "1" in the drawing. Nature has provided a 
vegular order in which these feathers are replaced. 

In the case of the wild fowl, the protection — the very 
life of the bird — so largely depends upon flight in escap- 
ing from its enemies that, if their wing-flight feathers 
were all molted at once, there would be a period in each 
bird's life when it would be at the mercy of those enemies 
whose chief desire is to devour it. Nature wisely planned 
that the season of molting for a fowl's wing-flight feath- 
ers should extend over twenty-four weeks, each feather 
in the sector requiring six weeks to develop in full, each 
succeeding feather being dropped about two weeks after 
the one just preceding it. It is the natural habit for the 
wing molt to begin almost immediately after the hen 
ceases to lay. Apparently, the strength^ ceasing to be 



CULLING BY GENERAL APPEARANCE, CONDUCT ANU MOLT 



55 



needed for eg-g production goes into the formation of 
tho.se important flight feathers. 

An average hen would lay out her clutch of eggs and 
then molt first the inside flight feather (No. 1) of both 
wings, then No. 2. 3, 4, etc., in regular order, as indicated 
ill the wing at the top of the group. In all but the top 
wing shown herewith, special emphasis has been given 
the flight feathers under consider- 
ation by using strong black lines, 
while dotted lines ai'e used to show 
the remaining construction of the 
wing. Other parts of the wing are 
molted with less regularity, ofte-i 
in groups, and they did not appear 
to show any relation to the periods 
of egg production. 

In Wing 2 the flight fealhers 
have been in what we may call the 
normal process of molting -sixteen 
to seventeen weeks. All but the end 
flight has dropped. From indica- 
tions the ninth feather has been 
growing about one week. The eighth 
feather has grown about three 
weeks, the seventh about five 
weeks, the sixth has been full 
grown from six to seven weeks. The 
numbers on the feathers of the 
wing in Wings 2, 3, 4. .5, and G, 
lefer to the weeks (at least) that 
the wing has possessed the new 
feathers. The shaded, un-numbered 
flight feathers in Wings, 2, 4, 5, >'> 
and 7 represent the old feathers 
that have not been molted. 

Wing 3 represents flight feath- 
ers as having uninterruptedly molt- 
ed during the full twenty-four 
weeks. The first inside flight 
feather has been in at least the full 
time or twenty-four weeks, as indi- 
cated by the number 24. Each of 
the other feathers was molted two 
weeks later until the last or end 
feather, which was the 10th in turn. 
It has just finished its six weeks 
and attained its full growth. It 
will be noticed that the end feather 
and those near the end in the wing 
of a normal fowl are not so long 
nor so large as those that are num- 
bered in the top wing 3, 4, 5. (i and 
7, for example. 

In Wing 4 the flight feathers 
have been in process of molting for 
about six weeks and the first feath- 
er is full grown. The next one 
shows four 'weeks' growth and the 
next under that, two weeks.' In the 
natural course this bird probab'y 
has rested from laying for the six week 
proceed thus far in moltir..-?. 

In Wing 5 one easily reads by the feathers that the 
bird has used eight weeks in molting; that is, two weeks 
for the short feather showing about one-third growth. 



four weeks for the one two-thirds grown, six weeks for 
the one full grown, and as that feather must have been 
started two weeks later than the first feathei-, eight weeks 
must have passed in order for the wing to show that 
condition on examination. 

In Wing (; the last molted feather is aliout as far 
along as the shortest one in Wing 2, which would indicate 




if% 



-~j'. 



'M 






I-K;. SI)-H0U ..\ HEX MllLIS IM'K W I M , PK.VII I KRS 

WiiiK I shows tin- oriltr in wIhlIi :\ luii norinallv molts tlic wiiiK flight fi^athcrs 
The msiih- (light luatlKT. m:irki<l I, is t hi- first K. he- molted, anil thi- others ilrop in rcgiil.ir 
order, ahout two weeks apart. Wing 2 has l.een in process of molting from sixteen to 
seventeen weeks. It takes six weeks for a wing flight to mature, so the new featller marked 
1 has had only about a week's growth, tlie others, two, three, and five, while the one marked 
b has completed its growth. In wing ,1 all the flight leathers have been molted and the 
new feathers have attained their full growih. taking in all twenty-four weeks. Wing 4 
six weeks of molting; wing .';. eight weeks; wing 6, from twelve to thirlein ueeks. 



shows 



W 



mg 



show « 



eati 



molt. Sketch l)V 



ell. 



it has taken to 



about a week's growth. So by allowing two weeks fo.' 
each of the other feathers molted, it is apparent that this 
hen has been molting for twelve weeks — and in all prob- 
ability has not laid during that length of time .^nd the 
bird may go on molting and producing no eggs until her 



56 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



wing feathers are replaced and full grown, as in the case 
of Wing 3, which means that for 24 weeks she would lay- 
no eggs. Not many fowls have the vitality to lay while 
they are molting. 

Can Be Bred to Lay More Eggs Per Annum 

Producing eggs throughout the greater part of the 
year can be brought about successfully only as a result of 
selective and pedigree breeding just as great producing 
dairy cattle have been brought into being by breeding 
strong vitality through a line of individuals particularly 
fashioned and cared for in order to develop certain organs 
whose line-bred habits and inbred qualities serve the pur- 
pose the breeders had in view. This method of breeding 
leads toward ideals and standards that are right. 

The conjunction of bloods from abnormal freaks that 
simply exhausted themselves in producing great quantities 
of eggs, would not result in forming reliable egg-laying 
strains; but line breeding heavy layers for a number of 
generations will produce heavy laying strains of domes- 
tic fowl. 

Wing 7 is that of a persistent layer that took a 
"vacation" of- perhaps six to eight weeks. Probably she 
had the vitality to start laying soon after the fourth 
feather had started, possibly when it was about a week 
old, gaining strength enough to finish those feathers 
already started, but she did not cast any more quills. 
In estimating the number of eggs such a hen has laid, 
it is safe to guess that she stopped laying at least six 
weeks. Other indications might show that she is not in 
full lay. The fact that she stopped molting and did not 
continue, as indicated by the full growth of the last 
feather produced, leads one to conclude that her substance 
was again contributed mostly to egg production instead 
of feather making. 

In examining the fowls for wing molt it is important 
to bear in mind that, according to Dr. Kent, "the good, 
high-laying birds do not molt all of their flight feathers. 
They go through what I call a "vacation" molt, that is 
they drop a few of the wing feathers and then go on laying 
again. I do not believe that a bird molts and lays at the 
same time; that is, sheds feathers and lays. She may 
grow feathers and lay, but not drop them and lay. Hence 
the longer period over which a hen lays the .shorter will 
be her molting period and, therefore, the fewer the wing 
feathers shed. The wing molt thus shows when the hens 
stopped laying, and makes it possible to pick out the per- 
sistent high-laying birds from the drones almost any time 
from June to January". 



Summary 

The general appearance and conduct of fowls is an 
important aid in determining their value as layers. 

Health, activity, appetite, and temperament should 
be particularly noted. 

Abdominal capacity is one of the first points to be 
noted, exercising due care to avoid being misled by ap- 
parent capacity resulting from accumulation of fat. 

Avoid too-loose feathering — a character which usually 
goes along with coarseness and slow maturity, and hence 
nonproductiveness. 

The comb is a good index to the activity of the ovary. 

Good layers are apt to have rocker-shaped combs with 
broad serrations. Poor layers usually have combs high in 
the rear, with "pencil points". 

The eyes of the good layer are prominent and more 
or less parallel in the head rather than "toeing-in" toward 
the beak as is usually the case in poor layers. 

Bagging down behind may indicate overfatness or a 
tumor. It often results from a short keel. 

The presence of spurs on the legs of hens is not 
necessarily an indication of age or nonproductiveness. 

Culling should begin as soon as the chicks are hatched, 
and should be continued throughout the growing period. 

Discard all your pullets that at any time show lack 
of health or vigor, or any important physical defects. 

Early maturity is generally regarded as an indication 
of superior productiveness. 

The comb of the maturing pullet indicates with re- 
markable clearness the stage of development of the ovary. 

The regular order for the molt is first, neck feathers, 
then body, tail, and wing. 

Late molters molt more rapidly than early molters. 

The occurrence of the molt in various individuals is 
extremely irregular, hea\'y-laying fowls particularly molt- 
ing quite late in the season and often dropping only part 
of their feathers. 

The average time taken for a complete molt is about 
three months. 

The molt can be "forced", but there is no practical 
advantage in doing so. 

Late molters are almost invariably the best layers. 

Medium-late molters are believed to produce the best 
hatching eggs early in the season. 

Hens that have their new coats fully developed by the 
last of September may usually be thrown out as unprofit- 
able producers. 

The feathers of the wing are molted in pairs. 

By noting progress of wing molt in the fall, it is 
possible to determine with a fair degree of accuracy the 
length of time for which the hen has been nonproductive. 




A 54 egg hen 



A 76 egg hen 



A 203 egg hen 



FIG. SI-TYPES OF GOOD AND POOR LAYING LEGHORN HENS 
The above outlines indicate the general shape of the hens whose trap-nest records are here given. These outlines were pre- 
pared hy Dr. O. B. Kent of Cornell Universit.v, and are intended to illustrate the descriptions of type given in the Official Culling Outline. 



CHAPTER Nil 
Gulling by Egg Type and Physical Tests 

Is There an Egg Type?^Why Abdominal Capacity Is of Great Importance in Securing High Records -Laying Capacity 

and Laying Ability Are Not the Same Thing Condition of the Abdomen a Kehable Indication 

of Productiveness — Pubic Bone Measurements Are Mainly Capacity Tests — 

How to Secure Individual Hen Records Without the 

Use of Trap Nests 




HE question of whether or not there is an egg 
type is more' or less in dispute among poulti-j' 
keepers generally, though many of those who 
have carefully studied external characters in 
their relation to production are fully con- 
vinced that there is such a type and that it is fairly dis- 
tinct. General belief in the existence of an egg type will 
depend much upon what is included in the term. If it is 
intended to convey the impression that heavy layers, 
regardless of breed, have a distinctive body shape that 
can be relied upon as certainly indicating their rank as 
producers, there probably are few who could be enlisted 
in its support. Not only does breed type have to be 
reckoned with in this connection but, as is well known, 
even fowls within the breed vary more or less widely 
as to shape, and without necessarily being handicapped 
as producers thereby. However, if type is taken to mean 
simply BODY CAPACITY, plus a few other characters 
that are known to be the direct result of high production 
in any breed, then there would seem to be little ground 
for controversy since there certainly is a physiological 
distinction between the good and the poor layer, whether 
readily observed in the live fowl or not. 

Every one who has had occasion to compare good and 
poor layers by handling them, has been impressed with 
the fact that heavy laying in fowls of any breed does 
have a marked influence upon the condition and shape 
of the body. The active egg organs of the high producer 
weigh in the neighborhood of one-half pound more than 
when these are in a dormant condition, and the digestive 
organs also are decidedly larger. These internal changes 
necessitate a considerably increased abdominal capacity 
and cause other definite changes which taken together 
may fairly be said to form an egg type. 

As a matter of fact, the various tests for body capac- 
ity, such as pubic bone tests, span between pubic bone 
and keel, location of sternal processes, etc., as prescribed 
in the Official Culling Outline (see Chapter III) and 
more fully described elsewhere in this book, are designed 
simply to afford a means of identifying egg type by 
physical measurements for abdominal capacity. .A.nd the 
obsei-ver who carefully studies his fowls and who learns 
to measure body capacity with his eye instead of with his 
fingers, recognizes egg type whether he calls it by that 
particular name or not. 

Accepting the foregoing definition of egg type, it is 
plain that its presence may be indicated without con- 
formity to any special body shape. For example, the 
Leghorn egg type as described by Prof. H. R. Lewis in 
Chapter III and as illustrated herewith, calls for a fowl in 
which the keel bone drops below a line parallel with the 
backbone, giving the bird a wedge-shaped appearance 
from front to back, as in Fig. 85. Such a hen also will 
have a well-filled breast which gives her a triangular 



appearance when viewed from in front, as in Fig. 82. 
When viewed from the rear in the position shown in Fig. 
8.3 she always will have a wedge-shaped apnearance due 
to the large, well-filled abdomen. If the numerous illus- 
trations of record-laying Leghorns given in this book 
are carefully compared with this description, their gen- 
eral adherence to it will readily be noted. It is under- 
stood of course, that many fowls may have good capacity 
and yet be nonlayers by reason of malformed or injured 
egg organs, a condition that the average operator is not 
apt to note until he handles the fowl. 

In heavy layers of breeds characterized by depth of 
body rather than length, such as Wyandottes, Orpingtons, 
etc., this wedge shape may never develop so that it can 
be noted in the contour of live fowls, and yet the greater 
body capacity will be obvious, particularly to any one 
who handles them. 

In birds with large, rectangular bodies, such as the 
standard Rhode Island Reds, the increased abdominal 
capacity necessary for heavy egg production often is se- 
cured without forcing the keel out of a position parallel 
with the backbone. It is rare, however, for a hen of any 
breed to make a good record whose keel is noticeably 
"tucked up" at the rear so as to produce a wedge-shaped 
appearance with the base toward the front. 

Egg type would be more readily recognized were it 
not for the fact 
that the outline of 
the live bird is af- 
fected so largely by 
the development and 
position of feathers 
and by the fowl's 
general carriage and 
position. The angle 
at which the hen 
carries her tail, 
the tightness o r 
looseness of her 
plumage, whether 
she is obsei-\'ed when 
in full feather or 
at some stage in the 
molt, the position in 
which she happens 
to hold herself when 
under observation — 
all of these factors 
quite materially af- 
fect her general out- 
line and lender very 
much more difficult 

the problem of es- 

, ,,.,.. ,, . ^ FIG. S2-GOOD EGG TYFE-FRONT 

tablishing the exist- VIEW 




58 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



ence of a laying type and of describing it. 

At the Second Annual Judging School at Cornell in 
1919, this subject was quite thoroughly discussed and at 
one of the concluding sessions the following amendment 
to the Official Culling Outline, descriptive of egg type, 
was adopted without a dissenting vote among the 
students, in whose number were included well-known 
government workers, poultry fanciers, judges, and com- 
mercial poultry keepers. (This amendment, which was ac- 
companied by the drawings reproduced in Fig 81, appears 
in the Official OutUne in Chapter III, but is repeated 
here for convenient reference.) 

TYPE 

In order to make a record a hen must not only lay 
long but heavily. In order to lay heavily she must have 
sufficient body capacity to digest large amounts of food 
rapidly. Large capacity in a laying hen is shown by a 
body that is deeper at the rear end of the keel than at 

the front end. 
The under line 
should be fairly 
straight as 
.shown in the il- 
lustration, and 
the back should 
be comparatively 
horizontal. 

A small capac- 
ity hen stands 
erectly. The body 
is either very 
shallow or, in the 
case of beefy in- 
dividuals, the ab- 
domen shows a 
pronounced sag- 
;; - ging at rear of 

"^ keel. A small 

■ ~ capacity hen 

■ v5^ generally p o s- 
sesses a hump 
on the back. The 
comb generally 
has sharp, nar- 
row points, with 
the blade point- 

ing up. 

A general body conformation of a heavy producer 
conforms vei-y closely to a rectangle, with pronounced 
angles rather than smooth curves. 

A male shows the same general characteristics except 
that the abdomen is not so deep. 

The keel bone should be long and the body relatively 
deep in proportion to weight or length. 
Culling by Physical Tests 

Under the head of physical tests comes the observation 
of such characters as the condition of the abdomen and 
vent, the development and position of the pelvic bones 
and keel, etc. All of these characters are helpful in 
estimating the fowl's past performance and, to some 
extent, in determining her prospective production. The 
condition of the abdomen and vent shows quite clearly 
the relative value of the birds as producers, while the 
position of the pelvic bones is regarded by many as af- 
fording a clear idea not only of the fowls' previous per- 







FIG. 



8.?— GOOD EGG TYPE— RE.\R 
VIEW 



formance but, in the case of pullets, of their probable 
value as producers and, in the case of males, their ability 
to transmit heavy-laying ability. 

The condition of the abdomen of the heavy-laying 
hen is so distinctive that even the most ine.xperienced 
should have no difficulty in judging between extremes 
in handling the birds. In good layers the abdomen will 
be found to be large for the breed, well developed, free 
from excessive fat either under the skin or around the 
abdominal organs, and it has a characteristic loose, flab- 
by condition that cannot possibly be confused with the 
firm, hard abdomen of the nonlayer This peculiar con- 
dition of the abdomen is clearly brought out in Fig. 91 
which contrasts looseness of skin in this section of a 
heavy-laying hen, with that of a nonproducer. Any 
one who has had any experience in handling fowls will 
realize from the appearance of the photos the marked 
difference in the pliability of the skin in the heavy layer 
and in the loose, flabby condition of the abdominal walls. 

By condition of the vent is meant its relative size 
and appearance which, in the heavy layer, is always large 
in size and relaxed, with more or less moisture present. 
This is well illustrated in Fig. 90. The nonlayer or the 
comparatively poor layer has a vent much smaller and 
less moist. Some demonstrators determine whether the 
hen has laid within the last day or two by spreading the 
first and second fingers of the hand on either side of the 
vent and pressing down. If the hen has laid recently a 
quantity of watery fluid will escape, but practically none 
will be present if no egg has been laid within twenty-four 
to forty-eight hours. 

The pelvic bones of the fowl consist of three bones in 
pairs. These are known as the ischium, ilium, and pubis. 
These bones are separate in the baby chick but are more 
or less fused in the adult fowl, and are capable of expand- 
ing but slightly, so that the pelvic arch as a whole varies 
little in the mature fowl under any condition. The loca- 
tion and general appearance of these bones is shown in 
Fig. 84. Taken together they form what is known as the 
pelvic arch. 

In practice the poultry keeper gives little attention 
to the pelvic arch as a whole, but centers his attention 
almost exclusively upon the position of the rear of the 
arch, or the posterior ends of the pubic bones. The spread 
of these bones varies widely in the fowl at different 
stages of laying. They are readily found in the live fowl 
when held in the position shown in Figs. 56 and 58, being 
located on either side of the vent and a little below it. 
The space between these two bones may measure any- 
where from one to four inches, depending upon the size 
of the fowl and its productiveness. These bones naturally 
cuiwe in toward each other, the curvature being compara- 
tively slight in heavy-laying fowls, while in nonlayers 
they may be turned in at a decided angle, with the ends 
approaching each other quite closely. 

The Pubic Bone Test 

The usual method of measuring the distance between 
the pubic bones is by means of the fingers, the term, 
"one finger", "two finger", "three finger", etc., referring 
to the number of fingers that can be accommodated in the 
space between the bones. The hen shown in Fig. 58 for 
example, is a "two-finger" fowl and therefore inferior, or 
at best only a medium layer, whereas the "three-finger" 
hen shown in Fig. 56 is a good layer, though not neces- 
sarily one of the best in which a spread of "four-fingers" is 



CULLING BY EGG TYPE AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



59 



expected. The signifianee of this character as a means of 
judging the past or prospective laying ability of a fowl 
is in the fact that it indicates abdominal capacity. 

The thickness of the pubic bones means their thickness 
as observed in the live fowl when the end of the bone 
is felt between the fingers. This thickness varies wide- 
ly, ranging anywhere from an eighth of an inch up to in 
the neighborhood of one inch. Pubic bones do not actually 
vary in thickness, at least to any noticeable extent, but are 
always quite thin,their apparent thickness being due to 
the skin and fat overlaying them. In nonlayers there 
usually will be found a thick layer of fat which, with the 
stiff, unpliable skin itself, results in making the pubic 
bones appear quite thick when felt with the fingers, as 
is shown in Fig. 89. In the laying hen, however, any fat 
that may have accumulated in this section of the body is 
quickly absorbed, while the skin itself becomes much more 
pliable, thus greatly reducing the apparent thickness of 
the pubic bones which thus become an important clue to 
the laying ability of the fowl. Along with spread of pubic 
bones and their thickness is noted their pliability which is 
quite marked in good layers. This greater pliability is 
due in part to their freedom from the thick blanket of fat 
that usually covers them in a poor layer, but without 
doubt the bones themselves are more pliable, due to 
some modification in their texture. 

The position of the keel has even more significance than 
the pubic bones, as a measure of capacity. The keel, 
or the breastbone, as it is commonly called, is indicated 
at "B" in Fig. 84. This bone is not attached to the 
skeleton at the rear but swings from the .shoulders. As 





FIG. 85 



a pullet develops 
and comes into 
laying, or as an 
adult hen after 
passing through 
a rest period re- 
sumes production, 
the egg organs 
increase in size 
and weight, and 
the rear end of 
the keel is pushed 
downward and 
outward to give 
more room. The 
distance between 
the end of the 
keel bone and the 
end of the pubic 

bones is usually spoken of as the span, and is measured 
by the fingers. Illustrations of narrow and wide spans 
are presented in Figs. 57 and 59. 

For this test to be of value in judging for egg pro- 
duction, it is important to note that the measurement of 
the distance between keel and pubic bones must be verti- 
cal rather than horizontal. Obviously, a fowl, the end of 
whose keel bone is practically on a level with the end of 
the pubic bone, as shown in Fig. 88, has much less 
abdominal capacity than the one .shown in Fig. 86, though 
so far as the actual distance between the bones is con- 
cerned they have approximately the same span. 

Some Exact Measurements 

The point should be made plain that not only do fowls 
differ among themselves in width of span, spread of pubic 
bones, etc., but these measurements will vary noticeably 



-GOOD EGG TYPE-SIDK 
VIEW 



Table Showing 
Leghorn Pu 

Date 

Measured 

Feb. 2 

9 

16 

2.^ 

1 



Weekly Measurements of a White 
llet. Taken at Cornell University 



FIG. 84— ".X-RAY" SKETCH SHOWING PELVIC 
ARCH AND KEEL 

a. Pubic bones, forming rear part of pelvic arch. 

b. Rear of keel or breastbone. 

c. Lateral or sternal processes. 



Mar. 



Apr. 



May 



June 



July 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



Nov. 



15 
22 
29 

5 

12 
19 
26 

3 
10 
17 
24 
31 

7 
14 
21 
28 

5 

12 
19 
26 

2 

9 
16 
23 
30 

6 
13 
20 
27 

4 
11 
18 
25 

1 



Keel 
to Tail 

9.9 
10.5 
11.2 
10.8 
11.2 
11.1 
10.2 
10.6 
10.1 
10.3 

9.9 
11.2 
10.4 

9.3 

9.3 
11.1 
10.7 
10.7 

9.6 
10.4 
10.8 
10.8 

9.3 
10.6 
11.2 
11.0 
10.9 
10.1 
10.7 
11.2 
11.0 
11.3 
10.9 
11.4 
10.7 
10.5 
10.1 
10.0 

9.5 
10.0 



Comb 
Height 

4.3 

4.5 

4.5 

4.0 

4.7 

4.5 

5.2 

5.0 

4.9 

5.5 

4.6 

4.8 

4.8 

4.6 

4.5 

4.5 

4.7 

4.7 

4.5 

4.5 

4.8 

4.9 

4.5 

4.5 

4.8 

5.0 

4.7 

4.4 

5.0 

4.3 

4.8 

5.5 

5.0 

4.9 

4.4 

4.5 

3.9 

3.8 

3.7 

3.8 



Pelvic 
Arch 
4.3 
4.4 
4.7 
5.2 
5.3 
5.5 
5.1 
5.0 
4.6 
4.5 
5.1 
4.7 
5.0 
4.2 
3.9 
4.5 
4.9 
4.8 
3.7 
4.5 
5.0 
4.7 
4.0 
4.6 
5.0 
4.8 
4.8 
3.9 
4.8 
4.5 
5.1 
4.6 
4.6 
4.8 
4.2 
3.7 
3.8 
3.4 
3.5 
3.7 



Pelvis We 
to Keel in 



6.1 
6.4 
7.6 
7.0 
8.0 
8.0 
7.6 
7.5 
6.2 
6.5 
6.5 
6.8 
7.1 
5.9 
5.4 
7.7 
7.7 
6.1 
5.3 
6.1 
7.9 
7.8 
5.3 
6.6 
7.7 
7.1 
7.8 
5.5 
6.8 
7.2 
7.9 
7.3 
6.8 
6.7 
6.3 
6.5 
5.9 
5.3 
4.8 
5.9 



Eggs laid 
ght in follow- 
lbs. ing week 
1.65 
80 
,90 
.05 
,10 
,90 
,65 
55 
,30 
35 
15 
30 
,40 
,10 
,10 
,40 
.50 
1.35 
,00 
35 
.70 
,40 
20 
55 
70 
40 
25 
10 
55 
70 
75 
65 
50 
,75 
50 
35 
30 
30 
25 
40 



60 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



^;;;^^__^^ 






® y 




l^n rf er/o /I. 



FIG. 85-LOCATION OF PUBIC BONES AND KEEL IN 
"GOOD CAPACITY" FOWL 

1— Pubic bones: 2 — Keel. 

in the same fowls when bodily dimensions in laying and 
nonlaying conditions are contrasted. At Cornell Uni- 
versity, Dr. Kent took weekly measurements of a White 
Leghorn Pullet as she approached laying maturity, and 
throughout her first laying year, carefully recording 
the variations that took place in the characters noted. 
These measurements are reproduced in the accompanying 
table and are worthy of careful study. (See page 59.) 

In the foregoing table, measurements are recorded in 
centimeters; weights in pounds and decimals of a pound. 
"Pelvic arch" corresponds to spread of pubic bones as 
the term is used in this book. "Pelvis to keel" corre- 
sponds to span between pubic bones and keel. Measure- 
ments prior to Feb. 2nd are omitted to save space. 

It will be noted that up to March 1, when the pullet 
began laying, there was a gradual increase in all dimen- 




sions. After that the measurements follow the egg yield 
closely, the abdomen noticeably contracting after even 
a single week of idleness, and prom^ptly expanding again 
as soon as egg production was resumed. On Oct. 25th, 
after 6 weeks of nonproduction, comb, arch, and pelvis- 
to-keel measurements were at their minimum for the 
entire period. The distance from keel to tail, while re- 
duced, was greater than at three former periods (evidently 
this dimension is not so closely correlated to production). 
As was to be expected, the greatest fluctuations were in 
comb and pelvis-to-keel dimensions. The last measure- 
ment recorded (Nov. 1st) shows all dimensions increas- 
ing again, also weight, and an early resumption of laying 
would be expected if conditions generally were favorable. 

In connection with the keel bone the lateral processes 
also .should be observed. These processes are well illus- 
trated in their natural position (O) in the excellent 
"X-Ray" drawing by Artist Sewell, reproduced in Fig. 
84. The value of lateral processes in tests for productive- 




FIG. 87— HOW A SHORT KEEL MAY CAUSE 
"BAGGING DOWN" 
The abdomen of a normally shaped hen would follow dotted 
line at "3", instead of the lower solid line. 



FIG. 88— A FOWL OF EXTREMELY INFERIOR CAPACITY 
The distance or span between 1 and 2 in this outline is the 
same as in Fig. 86, but abdominal capacity is much less. To get 
fair capacity "1" should be at point indicated by "3". 

ness is that they indicate abdominal capacity, also con- 
dition. Fowls that are laying heavily, and therefore 
eating heavily, will have the lateral processes well spread 
out, and because of the comparatively thin, fat-free skin 
and highly pliable abdomen their bones will readily be 
felt by the fingers when placed as in Fig. 93. In the 
well-fed nonlaying hen the walls of the abdominal cavity 
will have a comparatively heavy layer of fat, while the 
lateral bones themselves will be drawn in somewhat and 
so less easily located. 

Where it is particularly important to make no mistake 
in determining which hens are laying (as in culling val- 
uable breeding stock), physical tests are not only simple 
and accurate but less laborious than trap nesting. Per- 
sons who wish to use trap nests but who have trouble 
with the hens laying on the floor will find that the meth- 
od described in the following article overcomes this diffi- 
culty. The method here described has also been in reg- 
ular use at the Utah Experiment Station for several years. 



CULLING BY EGG TYPE AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



61 



Experiment in Accurate IMettiod of Gulling 

These Experimental Records Show that Almost Com- 
plete Accuracy Can be Realized in Individual Egg 
Records Without the Use of Trap Nests 
By PROF. ROY H. WAITE* 

IN applying this method of testing hens, it is recom- 
mended to examine the entire flock in the morning 
before the hens have begun to lay. Test at least three 
days in succession, for hens do not lay every day. You 
can only determine which ones are to lay the day you 
test. Shut the hens in the poultry house the night before 
testing, unless you get out early enough in the morning 
(before daylight) to catch them from the roosts. If you 
have a droppings board under the roosts you can fasten 
the hens underneath it and catch them readily. The hens 
are more easily managed if the catching closet is made 
dark. I find that an old door or platform or other opaque 
material placed against the droppings board makes a 
very satisfactory catching closet. 

Catch the hens one at a time and examine. If you 
have two pens, place the layers in one and the non- 





FIG. S9— COMP.\RINX, THICKNESS OF Pl'BIC BOXES IN' HIGH AND LOW PRdlK l KK> 
Note how the accumulation of fat under the skin has given the pubic bone of the 
low producer on the right the appearance of l»eing two or three times as thick as in thi- 
higii producer. Plioto from Storrs Experiment Station. 



layers in the other. If you have only one pen it will be 
necessary to mark the layers in some manner so that 
they can be distinguished when it becomes time to dispose 
of the nonlayers. Leg banding is a very .satisfactory 
method of marking. You should be able to .get most of 
the layers out in two days. 

A study of trap-nest records shows that the large 
majority of hens do not skip laying more than one day 
at a time when they are in good lay- 
ing condition. A few hens skip two 
days at a time and a small percent- 
age skip three and sometimes as 
many as ten or more. It will thus be 
seen that a two or three-day test 
will get out a majority of the best 
layers, but if you wish to get out 
every laying hen, test over a longer 
period. Of course if the flock is just 
beginning to lay, a three-day test 
will not tell you much. 

Method of Feeling the Egg 

Study Fig. 94 carefully and note the 

position of the egg in tlie fowl's body 

on the day of laying. It is suspended 

near the back and well toward the 

♦Extracts from Bulletin 221, Maryland Ex- 
periment Station. 



FIG. 90-STRIKING COMPARISON OF HIGH AND 
LOW PRODUCERS 
iicu on left is the high-producing R. I. Red, shown in Fig. 54; 
tile one on the rii^lit is shown in F'ig. 5.r Photo from Storrs 
Experiment Station. 

rear of the body. Learn its position with reference to the 
pelvic bones for one of these serves as a guide to the fin- 
gers when testing. There is only the skin, a thin layer of 
mesentery, and the wall of the oviduct between the fingers 
and the egg when the test is made. 
Hold the bird to be tested with 
its right side down, its .shanks or legs 
in your right hand, and its back rest- 
ing in the palm of and on the fingers 
of the left hand (see Figs. 96 and 97 
herewith). Slip the fingers of the 
left hand under the .bird's body until 
the tips pass the pelvic bone. Then 
gently, yet firmly, press the tips of 
the fingers into the side of the fowl's 
body and up under the pelvic bone 
towards the back. If an egg is pres- 
ent it will Tje felt as a hard lump. 

The operation will seem rather 
awkward at first, but after a little 
practice the fingers become "educated" 
to the feel, and the effort in testing 
(becomes mainly that required in catching the birds. In 
making the test do not mistake the gizzard for the egg. 
The gizzard is lower down in the abdominal cavity. The 
egg is well up toward the back. While learning, it may 
be of some assistance to check on your results by feeling 
the egg in the oviduct. This can be done by pushing the 
forefinger into the vent of the hen and up the oviduct 
until the egg is felt. 




l-li, ..i_i,uuU ANIJ I'OOR I'KUULChUS i i ).\ T l^.\.^ 1 ED .\s itj I I.K.MBILITV ul SKIN 

The skin of the high-producing hen on the left is much more pliable and freer 
from abdominal fat than the low producer on the right. Photo from Storrs (Conr..) Experi- 
ment Station. 



62 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



If it seems more natural to you there is no reason 
why you cannot hold the fowl's legs with the left hand 
and feel the egg with the right. It seems more natural 
to me to catch the bird with my right hand and there is 
no lost motion when I feel for the egg with my left hand. 

After a little experience you will find that the method 
of testing is so simple, that you will not have to pick the 
bird's feet from the floor, but can feel the egg while hold- 
ing her in a natural upright position. 

Experiments 

A test of four flocks was made and the results are 
given in Tables I-IV inclusive: 

TABLE I 
Single Comb White Leghorn Hens 

No. of eggs 



No. of hens 
69 



shown by test 
No test made 
15 
14 
13 

7 
18 

7 
15 

5 
16 

A 
14 

6 

9 
14 

6 
IS 

9 
12 



No. of eggs 
gathered 
14 
14 
14 
14" 

7 
17 

6*" 
15 

5 
16 

4 
14 

6 

9 
14 

6 
14 

9 
12 



Date 

August 13 

August 14 

August 15 69 

August 16 28' 

August 17 28 

August 18 28 

August 19 28 

August 20 28 

August 21 26' 

August 22 26 

August 23 26 

August 24 26 

August 25 26 

August 26 26 

August 27 26 

August 28 26 

August 29 26 

August 30 26 

August 31 26 

• Sold 41 hens. 
'* One egg on roost before the test was made. 
*** One egg eaten. Remains of shell found. 
<•*•• Two hens sold. 

The results obtained by this experiment would seem to 
indicate that the method of testing laying hens is very sat- 
isfactory for the Leghorn breed. In none of these birds 

was there the 
least difficulty 
found in locating- 
the egg. The 

slight discrep- 
ancy between the 
number found by 
the test and the 
number gathered 
on Aug. 14, 18, 
and 29 could eas- 
ily be explained 
by hens eating 
eggs that had be- 
come broken or 
by error in count- 
ing the hens as they were tested. It is significant that 
in no case were any eggs found in any of the pens where 
nonlayers, as shown by the test, were placed. 





"/ 




/ ' 


■« 


/ 


£ 


/ foiy/ door F should be ahut 1$ 


' 1 


/ to 2^ iiches from the ccf/tfr 




-^J^ 



Scutn Front 
FIG. 92— METHOD OF CATCHING FOWLS 
With a light screen (C-D) across pen, 
and an assistant at B, operator CA) can 
handle fowls rapidly. Courtesy of Utah Ex- 
periment Station. 



Date 

August 14 
August 15 
August 16 
August 17 
August 18 



TABLE 11 
Barred Plymouth Rocks 

No. of eggs 



No. of hens 
38 

38 

38 

38 

38 



shown by test 
No test made 
2 
6 
2 
3 



No. of eggs 
gathered 
5 
2 
6 
3* 
4.. 



' Neglected to examine nests after testing at about 8 o'clock. 
•* One egg laid in cull flock. Two birds escaped before being 
caught. One of these may have laid. 

These results (Table II.) would indicate that the test 
can be applied to the heavier breeds. This flock was 
exceedingly fat, and the test was a little more difficult 
than with the Leghorn flock, but it was entirely practical. 



T 


■ 


> 

) 

1 


1 i 


i{. . 


1 

\ 




v^^ , 




ru,. y.i-LULATL\U LATERAL PROCESSES IN HIGH AND LOW 
PRODUCERS 

This illustration shows how lateral processes are found 

Note the larger capacity of the fowl on the left with well-spread 

processes. Bones are plainly felt in this case while in bird on 

right they are not noticeable unless considerable pressure is 
exerted. 

TABLE m 
Mixed Breeds Flock 

No. of eggs No. of eggs 

Date No. ot hens shown by test gathered 

.•\ugust IS 6 No test made 4 

.■\ugust 19 6 1 1 

August 20 6 4 4 

.\ugust 21 8* 1 1 

• Two broody hens released. 

These results (Table III) show that the ordinary mixed 
farm flock can be tested. There was no difficulty at all 
in finding the eggs inside these hens for they were in 
good laying condition as regards flesh. 

TABLE IV 
White Wyandotte Hens 

No, of eggs No. of eggs 

Date No. of hens shown by test gathered 

.August IS 4 No test made 1 

•August 19 4 2 2 

August 20 4 1 2 

August 21 4 

August 22 4 1» 2 

.\ugust 23 4 0* 1 

" Bird No. 53 laid but did not react to test. 

Three of the Wyandotte hens were easy to 
test, but in one (No. 53) the egg seemed to be 



CULLING BY EGG TYPE AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



63 



formed in front of the usual place and while 
it could be felt by making a special effort, the 
test would not be practical if all fowls were 
as difficult to test as this hen. The egg she 
laid was ill-shaped and small, therefore were 
she put into the nonlayer class to be sold 
there would be no great loss. The results of 
this experiment, while not so conclusive as 
those of the other breeds, indicate that the 
test is practical with Wyandottes. 

Time Required for Making Tests 
The first flock I tested was the White 
Leghorns. It required a little less than 
twenty minutes to go over the sixty-nine birds 
the first time. This is about seventeen seconds 
per bird. With practice a person soon becomes 
very proficient and can make the test almost 
as fast as the fowls can be caught. The hens 
soon get accustomed to being handled and 
become easy to manage. The eighth time I 
tested this flock of Leghorns there were 
twenty-six birds and the time required was 
two minutes and twenty seconds. This is a 
little less than six seconds per bird, or ten 
birds per minute. 

Injury to the Birds 

In no case did the testing seem to injure 
the birds in any way. The egg is so near the surface and 
the pressure required is so gentle that there is no danger 
of injury if the test is properly made. There are no vital 
organs in the region where the egg is held before laying. 
The principle danger of injury is in catching and handling 
the birds. Laying hens should be handled gently at all 
times. 

Time of Year to Make the Test 

The flock can be tested at any season of the year, 
but of course the greatest saving is made by taking out 






FIG. 94— POSITION OF EGG IN BODY OF FOWL 
The egg remains in the uterus of the ovary for several hours while the shell is being 
formed, and in this position is readily felt by the fingers, holding the bird as shown in 
Figs. 96 and 97. Photo from Maryland Experiment Station. 



FIG. 95— BONY FRAME OF .\ HIGH AND A LOW PRODUCER 

On the left is shown the bony framework of the high-producing Rhode 
Island Red hen shown in Fig. 54. The one on the right is the low producer 
shown in Fig. 55. In this photo, spread of pubic bones is indicated by the white 
strips. The difference in distance between pubic bones and rear end oi keel 
also is clearly seen, while the greater spread of the lateral processes in the 
heavy layer on the left are shown with exceptional clearness. Photo from Storrs 
Experiment Station. 



the hens that stop laying during the summer. This is 
especially true of those flocks in which a large percentage 
of the hens stop laying in late summer and do not begin 
laying again until late winter. 

The Value of the Test to the Poultry Breeder 

ThLs method of recording eggs laid will enable the 
poultry breeder to keep more reliable records of the flock 
from which he intends to select his hens for breeding 
than the method of trap nesting, and will save a vast 
amount of time. By using this test the breeder with his 
small flock will be able to keep indi- 
vidual records of his fowls for he can 
"mark up" his egg record early in the 
morning and then go about his regular 
work the balance of the day. 

In making the test regularly a defi- 
nite system should be adopted so that 
the fowls will become trained to know 
what to expect. By doing this, much 
time will be saved and the birds will 
not be injured by being frightened. It 
is surprising how quickly they learn 
to run up to the attendant to be ex- 
amined. 

The records published by the Utah 
.Station and our results obtained so 
far at this station show that the ex- 
ternal test is more accurate than the 
trap nest, in making certain that the 
eggs laid are credited to the proper 
hen. By these methods of testing, the 
floor eggs are credited to the hen that 
lays them. On the other hand, there 
is some indication that an egg is oc- 
casionally held over until the next day 
before being laid, in which case the 
hen would be credited with the same 
egg twice. 



64 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. 9&-TESTING FOR PRESENCE OF EGG 
This illustration shows the proper way to hold a fowl 
making the test to determine which hens are laying. Photo 
Maryland E.xperiment Station. 



while 
from 



Identifying Layers By Tests at Utah Experiment Station 

The advantageijiljf this method of detecting layer.s are 
thus described in Bmletin 162 of the Utah Station: 

"One of the chief advantages of this method is in the 
time saved. In a trial for time, two men working together 
went through 30 pens in a long house and through 16 
colony houses, testing over 500 hens in .37 minutes. When 
the testing was done they were free for other work un- 
til time to gather the eggs in the afternoon. In running 
trap nests on the same fowls it took one man more than 
cne-half his time of a ten-hour day to look after the nests, 
record the eggs, and free the fowls. 

"Where only the individual egg record is desired and 
no pedigree breeding is to be done, this method of obtain- 
ing the record saves the expense of equipping the houses 
with trap nests. It also lessens the labor required in car- 
ing for the fowls and gives a more complete individual 
record than the trap nests now in common use. 

"By keeping a careful record of the number of eggs 
tested and gathered with a note on the difference as a 
check, it was possible to reduce the number of unrecorded 
eggs to one-half of one per cent. During the year 1915 
the test showed 42,886 eggs. The sum of the eggs short 
at time of gathering was 110 and the sum of those in e.x- 
cess was 128. The error will be greater than this unless 
the work is carefully done soon after daylight. Since 
some hens lay shortly after leav- 
ing the perch, it is necessary to 
make the test early enough to 
catch these early layers. 

"As there is no way by which 
the eggs of a certain hen can be 
identified, individual pedigree 
breeding cannot be carried on by 
this method. For this reason the 
trap nest must be used during the 
breeding or hatching season in 
breeding experiments requiring an 
individual pedigree. At the Utah 
station, since nearly all the houses 
are equipped with trap nests, they 
are available for the pedigree- 
breeding work during the hatch- 
ing season. As soon, however, as 
this time is past the trap is tied 
down and the record kept by test- 
ing. 



Summary 

There is no distinct body type that can be relied upon 
to certainly indicate the rank of fowls as producers. 

There is, however, a physiological difference between 
the good and poor layers and the careful observer usually 
can detect it. 

Pubic bone tests, measurement of span, location of 
sternal processes, etc., are valuable chiefly as tests for ab- 
dominal capacity. 

A keel in which the rear end drops down sufficiently 
to place it at a slight angle with the back is accepted as 
a good indication of abdominal capacity. 

In fowls having long bodies, capacity may be secured 
without this wedge-shaped development. 

Hens whose keels are noticeably "tucked up" in the 
rear are seldom, if ever, good producers. 

The chief difficulty in recognizing body changes due 
to production is the fowl's heavy coat of feathers and the 
way in which apparent shape is affected by carriage and 
position. 

In any breed, a heavy-laying hen must have sufficient 
body capacity to be able to digest large amounts of feed. 

The abdomen of the heavy-laying hen will always 
be found to show a characteristic loose, flabby condition 
that need never be confused with the firm, hard abdomen 
of the nonlayer. 

The vent of the heavy layer is large in size, relaxed, 
and moist. 

The pelvic arch as a whole varies little in shape but 
the rear part of it, represented by the pubic bones,varies 
greatly in its spread at different stages of laying. 

Fowls in which only two fingers can be placed between 
the pubic bones are inferior, or at best only medium layers. 

If three or more fingers can be placed between the 
bones, the hen usually is a good layer. 

In nonlayers, the pubic bones appear quite thick, ow- 
ing to the abdominal layer of fat with which they are 
covered. 

The laying hen has little fat under the skin of the 
abdomen, hence the pubic bones appear quite thin. 

The span between pubic bones and keel is an important 
measurement for abdominal capacity. 

Actual tests show that the comb, spread of pubic 
bones, and span between pubic bones and keel follow close- 
ly the variations in productiveness in fowls. 

Well'spread lateral processes are an indication of good 
capacity. 

It is possible tc secure accurate individual egg records 
by physical tests, without the use of trap nests. 




FIG. 97- 



HEN KILLED AND PLUCKED TO SHOW POSITION OF H.\ND IN TESTING 

This illustration shows the position of fingers in testing hens for productiveness 
without, the use of trap nests. Photo from Maryland Experiment Station. 



CHAPTER V^III 

Tfie Value of Pigmentation Tests in Culling 

What Makes Skin, Beaks, Shanks, Etc., Yellow, and Why the Color Fades When the Hens Begin to Lay— How to 

Determine Approximately How Long Hens Have Been Laying and the Number of Eggs Produced, Doing 

so by Observing the Degree of Yellow in Different Sections of the Body — Why the Pigment 

Comes Back into the Faded Sections as Soon as Laying Stops 

HE APPLICATION of pigmentation tests to 
different sections of the fowl's body is, in 
the case of all yellow-skinned fowls, a valu- 
able aid in determining present productive- 




ness, also in estimating the probable length 
of time during which the fowl has been laying. By pig- 
mentation, as the term is here used, is meant the yellow 
color naturally present in skin, eye ring, beak, and 
shanks in fowls of such breeds as Leghorns. Plymouth 
Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, etc. In the case 
of Leghorns the color also is observable in the ear lobes. 
This yellow color, wherever found, is due to the presence 
of xanthophyll, a pigment that is always present in cer- 
tain feeds, such as yellow corn, alfalfa, clover, and other 
plants, and which is taken up by the fowl's digestive or- 
gans and distrijbuted to practically all sections of the 
outer surface of the body. 

Several observers, working independently, have definitely 
established the fact that egg production has a distinct 
influence upon the color of the parts mentioned, the ef- 
fect being to reduce the natural yellow color until, in 
the case of long-continued production, the loss of pigment, 
commonly described as "fading"', leaves the fowl's beak 
and shanks practically white or pinkish white, remaining 
so as long as the fowl is productive. This change takes 
place regardless of the amount of pigment present in 
the rations. For a brief history of the discovery and 
development of this method of detecting layers or non- 
layers, see Chapter I. (Jeneral directions for applving 
pigmentation tests ai'e given in Chapter III, and need not 
be repeated in this chapter which is devoted to con- 
sideration of special phases of the subject. 

Pigmentation of Comb and Wattles 

In all yellow-skinned breeds, yellow pigment is present 
in face, comb, and wattles, just as in eye ring and beak. 



and it fades out with production and returns when lay- 
ing ceases, in precisely the same way. The pigmentation 
of these parts has received little attention because not 
distinctly visible, though close observers will note a de- 
cided difference in the shade of red in comparing these 
parts in layers and nonlayers, the comb and wattles of 
the latter having a yellowish cast. This is brought out 
in some of the color plates on pages 6 and 7. An apparent 
exception to this rule is often encountered in hens whose 
combs appear white rather than yellowish red, due to the 
presence of a fine scale — see Plate fl, page 5. Yel- 
low pigment when present can readily be detected in 
comb and wattles simply by pinching them with the 
fingers and noting the color before the blood comes back. 

Observations in Loss of Pigment at Storrs 
Experiment Station 

By way of presenting definite data on loss of pigmen- 
tation due to egg production, the following extracts are 
reproduced from an article originally published in 
"Science", in 1915, by A. F. Blakeslee and D. E. Warner 
of Storrs Experiment Station. For their investigations 
these observers used the fowls entered in the Inter- 
national Laying Contest conducted at that institution, 
and as these fowls were all handled substantially alike, 
the possible influence of environmental factors could be 
largely ignored: 

"The amount of yellow was measured by means of the 
Milton Bradley color top which, when spinning, acts as 
a color mixer. The top readings of the White Leghorns 
listed in Tables I and II were taken at three different 
periods in October. Table I ^nows the nen-entage of 
yellow in ear lobes of 312 birds according to the records 
of October 19-21, together with monthly and yearly egg 
records for the different color groups. In Table II the 
records at the three different readings have been used. 



TABLE I 

Average Egg Records For Different Amounts Of Vellow In Ear Lobes Of 312 White Leghorns 

Per Cent Yellow. 5-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 

No. birds 7 36 40 16 20 31 33 41 39 

Average No. eggs in September 19.7 18.2 16.9 16.4 10.3 5.5 6.1 4.9 4.0 

.\verage No. eggs in October 1.5.3 14.2 11.7 8.1 3.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 

.Average No. eggs in year 197.1 187.9 184.3 164.3 148.5 U9.1 139.6 134.2 138.2 



51-55 


56-60 


61-65 


66-70 


71-75 


30 


13 


4 


1 


1 


3.6 


2.4 


1.3 


0.0 


0.0 


0.1 


0.0 


0.3 


0.0 


0.0 


137.8 


124.7 


100.8 


70.0 


83.0 



TABLE II 

Percentage Of Hens Laying And Average Number Of Days Since Laying For Different Amounts Of Yellow In Ear Lobes 



Per Cent Yellow. 5-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 

No. records 41 

Average days since laying 0.4 

No. records — laying 36 

Per cent records — laying 87.8 



26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 



51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70 71 73 



125 


80 


67 


62 


92 


94 


94 


108 


84 


44 


28 ■ 


9 


4 


1.6 


7.3 


17.1 


26.2 


37.9 


41.5 


44.0 


45.1 


51.3 


5.5.9 


61.4 


50-5 


71.0 


98 


44 


17 


3 





1 





2 

















78.4 


55.0 


25.4 


04.8 





Oi.O 





01.9 


















66 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG. 98— BROWN LEGHORN 
Record 210 Eggs 



A bird laying on the day of record, or on a later day 
within the month, is considered to be laying and credited 
with a zero. If she laid on the day before the record 
but not later, she is credited with 'one day since laying'; 
and in a similar way a longer period of inactivity in 
laying is indicated by a larger number of days since 
laying. With the exception of a few cases where this 
was not possible, three records were taken of each bird. 
"Since October is the season of decreasing egg pro- 
duction, the majority of the birds increased their quan- 
tum of yellow, and consequently most birds are listed 
in more than a single color grade. Beginning with the 
41 records in the 5-10 per cent color grade, which show 
an average of only 0.4 days since laying, the number of 

days increases consist- 
ently with the amount 
of yellow in the ear lobes. 
The percentage of records 
that indicate actual lay- 
ing drops rapidly from 
87.8 per cent for 5-10 per 
cent yellow, to zero for 
grades of yellow above 
30 per cent. The three 
cases of laying among 
records above 30 per cent 
yellow were for sporadic 
layers. 

"The table shows that 
it is practically certain 
that a bird with an ear lobe showing more than 30 per 
cent yellow at the time of the records is not in a laying 
condition. Observations regarding the percentage of 
yelio.v in the ear lobes of 312 birds on October 20th show 
that in general, as the percentage of yellow increa.^es, the 
egg production falls off. and that the coi-relation is most 
marked during the periods nearest the time when the 
records were taken. A distinct correlation with color 
seems to show in the yearly average but is largely an 
indirect one. It is generally only the best birds — those 
that make the large yearly records — that are laying in 
October. Therefore, any method that selects the laying 
birds at this season will select at the same time the 
birds laying above average throughout the year, and 
consequently give high yearly totals. Thirty per cent 
seems to be a critical amount of yellow. Above this 
amount comes the sudden drop in egg production for the 
months of September and October and also above 30 
per cent yellow the yearly totals fall to between 130 and 
140 with but slight change thereafter." 

Nature of Yellow Pigment in Egg Yolk. Skin, 
and Body Fat of Fowls 

It is chiefly to the investigations of Professor L. S. 
Palmer, of the Dairy Department, University of Missouri, 
that we owe such definite information as we possess in 
regard to the nature of the yellow pigment in the egg 
yolk, skin, and body fat of fowls. These investigations 
are briefly summarized in the following extracts from 
an article by Professor Palmer published in the "Journal 
of Biological Chemisti-y" (Vol. 23, No. 1). 

"A physiological relation between the primary egg- 
yolk pigment and the xanthophylls of the feed is 
reasonably well established by published observations of 
the influence of various feeds upon the color of the yolk. 



Thus the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station has . 
carried on feeding trials of this character in which yel- 
low corn, comprising about half the ration and fed as a 
scratch feed with bnm, gluten meal, and meat scrap to 
laying hens, was compared with a ration in which the 
yellow corn was replaced by whole wheat, and in another 
case with equal parts of yellow corn and wheat. The 
eggs from the lot receiving yellow com all showed yolks 
with a deep yellow color; those from the lot receiving 
corn and wheat showed yolks with a fair yellow color; 
while the eggs from the wheat-fed lot had yolks notice- 
ably very pale colored. The simplest explanation of this 
result is found in the fact that yellow corn is very rich in 
-xanthophyll. 

"In feeding experiments conducted by the author, a 
gradual 'reduction in the amount of pigment deposited 
in the yolk accompanied the change from a ration can-y- 
ing a moderate amount of xanthophyll (preliminary 
ration) to a ration carrying a very small amount of 
xanthophyll. In eight days the color of the yolks of 
the nonpigment group had become so pale that the hard- 
boiled yolks showed scarcely enough color to measure 
with a tintometer. Very little further reduction in color 
occurred until the bran was removed from the ration on 
March 16. In eight days the color had reached the 
lowest level attained, the tintometer reading of the raw 
yolk showing only 3.2 units of yellow and 1.0 unit of 
red. It is not probable that the color of the yolks of 
this lot of hens would have been reduced further. The 
ration still contained a small amount of xanthophyll, 
certainly sufficient to account for all that was deposited 
in the yolks when it is considered that the pigment found 
there represented the accumulated pigment carried in the 
blood through the period during which the yolk was 
being formed 

"Very interesting results were obtained on increas- 
ing the xanthophyll in the ration in the case of the 
xanthophyll-fed hens. As anticipated, a considerable 
increase in the color of the yolks accompanied the ad- 
dition of more xanthophyll. A marked increase in 
the color was noted on the second day after the change 
in ration. This was no doubt due to the fact that the 
greatest part of the yolk is formed during a relatively 
short period of time. As a matter of fact, it was ob- 
sei-ved, in the case of the highly colored yolks from the 
eggs laid on February 24 and 26, that it was the outer 
part of the yolks that was more intensely colored. The 
high color obtained at the beginning of the experiment 
did not persist, however, but a gradual reduction occurred 
until the level of the preliminary ration was reached. 
This was judged to be due to a failure to consume the 
scratch feed which contained by far the greater propor- 
tion of the xanthophyll of the total ration. When this 
was remedied by reducing the scratch feed to one-third 
instead of two-thirds of the ration, and increasing the 
amount of yellow corn in the mash by a corresponding 
amount (March 16), a rapid rise in the color of the 
yolks occuri'ed at once, a maximum of 7.8 units of yellow 
and 5.1 units of red being reached on the fifth day after 
the change. The pronounced orange tint of the color 
is notable, the tintometer reading showing 5.1 units of 
orange and 2.7 units of yellow, — nearly twice as much 
orange as yellow. 

"Experiments made with carotin in place of xantho- 
phyll as the color pigment gave results in every respect 



THE VALUE OF PIGMENTATION TESTS IN CULLING 



67 



similar and nearly identical with the results from the 
hens fed a pigment-free ration". 

Sequence of Pigmentation Changes 

In Chapter III was given a brief statement of the 
way in which the pigmented sections of the fowl's body 
vary with respect to the rate at which the yellow color 
is removed and restored again after laying has ceased. 
A more comprehensive statement of the cause of the 
change in pigmentation, and of the sequence in which it 
occurs, is given in Cornell Ex. Bui. No. 21, as follows: 

"The intestines and their contents, the ovary, and the 
oviduct decrease very decidedly in size and weight after 
a fowl stops laying, and yet the total weight of the hen, 
as records show, tends to increase. This is due to the 
depositing of a layer of fat nearly all over the body just 
underneath the skin, and of a thick mass of fat in the 
abdomen. A hen is able to deposit this layer of fat only 
when she is not forming yolks at a rapid rate, since 
they are composed very largely of fat. In fact, during 
heavy production, a fowl draws on the reserve of fat 
held in the body. 

"Of course such a change in fat deposition could not 
occur without its becoming manifest externally. When 
a hen stops laying, fat is deposited around the pelvic 
bones so that they feel blunt and stiff as compared with 
those of a laying fowl. When a hen becomes sick and 
all the fat in the body is used up, the pelvic bones feel 
very thin and pliable. Tlie emaciated condition alone 
would show that the fowl could not possibly bo laying. 
In a healthy fowl the apparent thickness of the pelvic 
bones is a fair indication of production. The thicker 
the bones (bone and fat) the longer it is since the fowl 
stopped laying. The backs of the shanks fill up with 
fat and become firm and round after a hen has stopped 
laying for some time. The face fills out and the back 
parts of the wattles drop down, giving the face a full, 
coarse, masculine appearance, and the top line of the 



wattles is more nearly perpendicular to the line of the 
eye and beak. 

"These changes in fat have a direct bearing upon 
changes in color or pigmentation, but fortunately^ while 
it takes several weeks for sufficient fat to accumulate 
to be apparent, in the yellow-skinned breeds the yellow 
pigment that accompanies the fat is noticeable when 
only a small amount of fat is deposited or withdrawn. 
A heavy-laying hen is pure or nearly pure red in comb 
and face, and flesh color in beak and eye ring, while a 
hen that is not laying is distinctly yellow in beak and 
eye ring, while the red of face and comb has a yellow 
cast. The rate at which yellow pigment disappears from 
any section depends mainly on the rapidity or amount 
of the circulation through the part affected, the nature 
of the food supply, and the amount of fat stored within 
the section. 

How to Apply Pigmentation Tests in Culling 

"If the hens are given an abundance of green feed or 
yellow corn, the yellow pigment will color highly any fat 
that is in the body, so that only a little fat is needed to 
become apparent. Consequently, hens on good grass 
range do not bleach out nearly so quickly as those that 
are confined to bare yards and are not given green feed. 
The heavy breeds, because of their coarseness, carry much 
larger supplies of fat, and hence do not bleach out so 
quickly as the light breeds. This difference is especially 
noticeable in the shanks. In considering color changes 
it should be borne in mind that they indicate what a fowl 
has done, not what it will do. 

"While all the color characters so far described are 
applicable to all yellow-skinned breeds. Leghorns and 
.\nconas show a change in the color of their ear lobes 
also. The color of the ear lobes does not change so 
quickly as that of the vent or the eye ring, and does not 
have such universal application, but because of its prom- 
inence it is of considerable value in selecting Leghorns." 




FIG. 99— SCENE OX COMMERCI.-\L POULTRY 



Even a small percentage of poor layers in a flock of this size means a 
owner. Systematic culling will make a great difference in the net profits realized 



PL.^NT AT PETALUMA, CALIK. 

serious financial loss annually to the 



68 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



The Physiological Relation Between Fecundity and the Natural Yellow Pigmentation 

of Certain Breeds of Fowls 

This Article Gives the Results of Some Recent, Highly Interesting Investigations Which Afford a New Explanation 
for the Well-known Fact That the Natural Yellow Color of Skin, Beaks, Shanks, Etc., of Leghorns 
and Other Yellow-skinned Fowls Fades Out as a Result of Heav-y Egg Production 
By Prof. L. S. PALMER and Prof. H. L. KEMPSTER 



EDITORIAL NOTE: — During the last few years 
Professor L. S. Palmer of the Dairy Chemistry 
Laboratory, University of Missouri, assisted by Pro- 
fessor H. L. Kempster, Head of the Poultry Department 
of the same institution, has investigated various ques- 
tions relating to yellow pigment in fowls, doing so with 
painstaking care and thoroughness. Important data se- 
cured in the course of these investigations have been 
published under the above title in the "Journal of 
Biological Chemistry", Vol. 39, No. 2 (Sept. 1919), of 
which the following ai-ticle is an abstract. In this article 
the authors express their opinion that the common ex- 
planations of why the vent, ear lobe, beak, and shanks of 
yellow-skinned fowls fade when heavy laying occurs are 
unsati.sfactory, and advance a new theory which will ap- 
peal to many as offering a reasonable explanation for 
some known "facts that do not appear to harmonize with 
the common explanation of the way in which pigmentation 
changes take place. 

PRACTICAL poultrymen have recognized for several 
years that a close relation exists between the 
amount of yellow pigment in the shanks, ear 
lobes, beak, etc., of hens of certain breeds of poultry. 
Data collected at various Experiment Stations, especially 
at Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, show that 
in hens which naturally carry yellow pigmentation a posi- 
tive correlation exists between pale shanks, ear lobes, 
beak, etc., and a more or less heavy egg production. 
The results show however, that use of this observation 
as a practical guide in the selection of heavy and light- 
laying hens must be made only immediately after the 
close of the laying season. 

The hypothesis which has been advanced and adopted 
by Blakeslee and Warner in explanation of the relation- 
ship which has been observed between fecundity and pig- 
mentation is that the grovrth of the egg abstracts the 
pigments from the body tissue with the resulting nega- 
tive correlation between egg production and the quantity 
of yellow pigment present in ear lobes, shanks, beak, etc. 

The theory here advanced is, that the fading of the 
yellow pigmentation in the visible skin parts as a result 
of fecundity is not due to the subtraction of pigmented 
fat from these parts and the subsequent incorporation 




FIG. lOO-BlULDINGS ANU YARDS USED AT NATIONAL LAYING CONTEST 

MOUNTAIN GROVE. MO 



in the egg yolk, but that the normal appearance of 
xanthophyll (yellow pigment) in the beak, shanks, etc., 
of yellow-skinned breeds is the result of a natural ex- 
cretion. Fecundity merely deflects this path of secre- 
tion to the egg yolk, thereby removing the source of pig- 
ment to the visible parts of the fowl. The result is 
that the pigment present in the skin at the onset of 
fecundity is gradually excreted towards the epidermis 
where it either becomes oxidized (decolorized) or wears 
away as the result of structural changes of the epidermis. 
In support of this theory two full-grown White Leg- 
horn cockerels which had been grown on a carotinoid-free* 
(colorless) ration, and which as a result showed complete 
absence of pigment in the skin, etc., were fattened on a 
colorless ration. The birds were then fed a ration con- 
taining a large proportion of yellow corn. Within 72 
hours yellow color began to appear and on the fifth day 
the shanks and beak began to show a yellow color. The 
following day it was plainly visible in the ear lobes, 
eye ring, etc. On the eighth day one of the birds was 
killed and an abundance of pigment was found in the 
blood serum, Malphigian layer of the epidermis, beak, 
ear lobes, comb, and shank. The remaining bird was 
fed on a yellow corn diet for 42 days, and by this time 
not only were the shanks, beak, ear lobes, etc., highly 
colored but his plumage also had a distinctly creamy, 
almost yellow appearance. 

This bird and four other highly colored cockerels 
were then put on a carotinoid-free (pigmentless) ration, 
and killed at various intervals. After 60 days it was 
no longer possible to detect yellow color in the ear lobes. 
The comb, when pi-essed, failed to show any yellow ap- 
pearance; the base of the beak was distinctly lighter in 
color than the tip, and the shanks also had begun to 
show a noticeable fading. The feathers which had been 
smoothly creamy w-ere now mixed with white and yel- 
low feathers. The bases of the feathers were colorless. 
The blood serum was free from xanthophyll, although 
the adipose tissue was distinctly yellow. Ninety days 
after the change to a colorless ration, the beak, ear 
lobes, comb, skin, eye ring, and vent of the birds were 
entirely colorless, and a marked de- 
colorization of the .shanks had taken 
place. After 200 days no pigment 
remained in the shanks except that 
deposited under the thick homy layer 
on the sides of the leg. If these 
birds had thinner shank skins like 
the females of this breed they would 
have been, no doubt, entirely color- 
less by this time. 



•(To guard against confusion on the pan 
of the reader it should be explained thai 
"carotinoid" is a general term including 
both carotin and xanthophyll (the pigmen' 
in egg yolk), as well as carotin which en 
ters but slightly into pigmentation it 
fowls. The carotinoid-free ration describee 
in this article is, therefore, one that contain: 
NEITHER xanthophyll nor carotin. --Ed.) 



THE VALUE OF PIGMENTATION TESTS IN CULLING 



69 



Microscopic examination of vertical sections of the 
skin taken from the bottom of the foot showed that the 
yellow pigment is deposited in the outer parts of the 
epidermis and especially in the rete of the Malphigi large- 
ly as granular masses. These granular masses are also 
seen lining the blood capillaries in the lower corium 
layer. Fat is found in the subcutaneous layers. There 
is almost complete absence of fat in the epidermis. The 
fact that the pigment found in the epidermis took a 
distinct color stain which does not occur if fat is present 
shows that the yellow pigment of the epidermis is not 
dissolved in fat. 

That the color of the shanks is not due to the pig- 
ment of the fat was also shown by the feeding of Sudan 
III to a bird raised on a colorless ration. After 8 days 
of feeding Sudan III no trace of the dye was found in the 
shanks, skin, ear lobes, beak, etc., although the bird 
showed an abundance of pink color in the fat. 

As the xanthophyll gradually faded from the shank 
skin, micro.scopic observations showed first a disappear- 
ance of the pigment from the corium, 
then from the outer layer of the 
epidermis which gradually extended 
to the rete of Malphigi, the last pig- 
ment to disappear being the xantho- 
phyll at the base of the Malphigian 
layer. 

The interpreta.tion of the obser- 
vations is that when the supply of 
xanthophyll is cut off by reason of 
its removal from the food, any pig- 
ment present in the corium layer of 
the shanks, etc., is normally deposi- 
ted in the rete of the Malphigi. At 
the same time the xanthophyll de- 
posits in the outer layer of the epi- 
dermis either wear off by normal 
replacement of the ouiter cells by 
those lower down, or is oxidized 
(decolorized) by contact with the 
air. The xanthophyll deposits in the 
rete of the Malphigi gradually be- 
come a part of the outer layer of the 
epideiTTiis, and are lost also, until 
the skin becomes free from visible yellow pigment. 

According to the hypothesis advanced, if fecundity 
deflects the path of excretion of the xanthophyll from 
the skin to the ovaries, and thereby removes the supply 
of yellow pigment from the shanks, etc., it is to be ex- 
pected that no restoration of the xanthophyll in these 
parts can be effected as long as fecundity continues. 
As proof of this theory hens which were laying and had 
been fed since hatching on a xanthophyll-free ration, 
were fed rations which were rich in xanthophyll. After 
.30 days' feeding of yellow com in one case and green 
food in another the yolks were highly colored. No pig- 
ment whatever was deposited in the ear lobes, beak, 
shanks, etc. It was also found that the adipose tissue 
was also practically colorless, a further proof that fe- 
cundity deflects the path of excretion of xanthophyll to 
the ovaries. 




ill 



ii<i - \ \\ 111 1 1 
RFX'ORD OK 

12 M<: 



Shank, Beak, and Ear Lobe Color as a Criterion 
of Fecundity 

Absence of color in the shanks, etc., at the end of a 
laying period is indicative of a recent long period of 
fecundity. This is true whether this results in the lay- 
ing of a large or a small number of eggs. Two birds 
selected at random from the University flocks were 
examined. One showed no color in the beak, eye ring, 
or ear lobes, and very little in the shanks. The fat also 
showed 12 per cent yellow color. The other showed yel- 
low color in the beak, shanks, etc., while the fat contained 
47 per cent of yellow. Both were laying and the egg 
yolks were the same color. An examination of the egg 
records showed that the "colorless'' bird had laid 134 
eggs again.st 131 for the "yellow". The explanation of 
these apparent inconsistencies is readily seen when one 
compares the trap-nest records. Hen 27.54, the yellow- 
shanked bird, did not lay from July 17 to September 29. 
while the other bird, 2854, had stopped laying for a 
shorter period— July 2.5 to August 25. The difference in 
appearance October 28 was not due to a wide difference 
in egg production but because 2754 
lost her fecundity for a sufficiently 
long period to restore the normal 
path of excretion to the shanks, etc., 
and had thus regained her skin pig- 
mentation. Hen 2854 lost her fecun- 
dity for a short time, or not at all, 
so that she went into October and up 
to the time .she was killed, with pale 
shanks, etc., which had resulted from 
a deflection of pigment from these 
liarts during continuous fecundity 
since February 13. 

.Absence of pigmentation is there- 
fore, an index of continuous fecundity 
rather than of heavy laying. 
Conclusions 
1. The fading of the yellow pig- 
ment from the car lobes, beak, shanks, 
ftc, of hens of the Leghorn and 
American breeds during fecundity is 
due to the fact that fecundity deflects 
the normal path of excretion of the 
xanthophyll from these parts of the 
skin to the egg yolk. 
The xanthophyll deposited in the epidermis of the 
above mentioned parts gradually disappears as the re- 
sult of the natural physiological change in the structure 
of the skin. 

The thicker the epidermis, the more slowly will the 
xanthophyll disappear. 

2. The xanthophyll in the epidermis of the ear 
lobes, beaks, shanks, etc., of Leghorn and American 
breeds of fowls, is largely in granular form with little 
or no fat associated with it. It is found chiefly in tho 
rete of Malphigi but also along the bloo<l capillaries of 
the subcutaneous tissue. 

3. It is impossible to restore xanthophyll to the skin 
of hens as long as fecundity exists, no matter how large 
an excess of pigment is fed. 

4. Adipose tissue also fails to take up the xantho- 
phyll from the food during egg laying even on rations 



Ki M K 11L.\ 
2S1 EGGS IX 
)NTHS 



70 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



rich in xanthophyll 
in the egg yolks. 

5. The fading 
of the Leghorn and 
suit of egg laying 
only, — not of heavy 

6. Yellow color 
end of the laying 
fecundity or a more 



, the pigment being excreted wholly 

of the ear lobes, beak, and shanks 
American breeds of hens as the re- 
is an index of continuous fecundity 

egg laying. 

in these parts, immediately after the 
season, indicates either intermittent 
or less recent loss of fecundity. 



Accuracy of Pigmentation Tests 

There is a good deal of variation in the accuracy of 
reported pigmentation tests, apparently depending in 
some instances upon the skill of the operator, and in 
others on the season at which the test is applied. As 
a rule, pigment tests are apt to be somewhat misleading 
if applied too early in the season, and general opinion 
favors making the tests in September and October. 
Storrs Bulletin No. 92 states that "records taken in July, 
September, and October indicate that October, at the end 
of the pullet year, is in general the best time in which 
to use the color test in selecting superior layers." 

In all culling operations, allowance must be made 
for natural differences in pigmentation in individual 
fowls. Some hens inherit much lighter colored shanks, 
beak, etc., than others, and hens regularly carry less 
color than they did as pullets. The ration, and even 
the soil on which the fowls are yarded, also has a great 
deal to do with the degree of color normally present. 
Where this fact receives due consideration, pigment tests 
have been found to be quite satisfactory. 

Because of the different sections affected and their 
variations in rate of loss and recovery of pigment, such 
tests afford a variety of combinations that offer excep- 
tional opportunities for close estimates on production. 
The inexperienced however, are apt to be confused by 
the way in which different degrees of yellow merge into 
one another, and even expert demonstrators always employ 
other tests as checks on their conclusions. 

No matter how clear cut the pigment tests may appear, 
head points, body capacity, condition, plumage, etc., should 
always be considered, particularly with fowls of the gen- 
eral-purpose breeds, or where details in regard to feed- 
ing and general care are not known. 

The Missouri State Poultry Experiment Station is con- 
ducting an interesting test during the current year (1919- 
1920), comparing the production of twenty "low producer" 
hens culled from farm flocks by comparatively inexperi- 



enced operators, with that of an equal number of hens 
from the same flocks, selected as good layers. This test 
began September 15th, and at the end of the fifth month 
(February 15th) the total production of the selected layers 
was 669 eggs as against 437 from the culls. This com- 
paratively high showing for the "cull" flock is due to the 
fact that included in the number are a few individuals that 
are much better layers than some that were in the "layer" 
flock. 

In a personal letter to the editors of this book, Herbert 
E. Cosby, Extension Poultry Specialist, in charge of this 
test, makes the following statement: "The forty hens in 
this test afford an interesting study. Two hens, in par- 
ticular, were sent in as decided culls. They were quitie 
yellow in beak, vent, and shanks, and the pubic bones 
were close together. For this reason they were culled 
out in September, the operator failing to observe that 
these hens had thin, straight pubic bones, good body 
depth, bright eyes, and, above all, old plumage. I believe 
that possibly five of the twenty "cull" hens will prove to 
be good layers. 

"To often people cull their flocks and, after keeping the 
culls a few days and getting no eggs, conclude that they 
have certainly identified the poor producers, and dispose 
of them as such, failing to correlate all the principles of 
culling and failing also to take into consideration the fact 
that probably many of these hens were not in condition 
to be culled at the time they were examined." 

Pigment tests are most reliable when applied to ex- 
tremes' — that is, hens that are characterized by bright 
yellow vent, eye ring, beak, and shanks, are reasonably 
certain to be nonlayers, whether observed in June or 
October. Silnilarly, those hens that at any time are 
quite noticeably faded out in these sections are almost 
certainly laying heavily. Whether such should be 
classed as high producers however, will be determined to 
some extent by the season of the year in which the ob- 
servations are taken. For example, if a flock is scored 
for production during June, the observer is apt to include 
among the good layers many hens that have laid only 
during the natural season and whose total or yearly pro- 
duction is quite small. Later in the season, or from 
-August to October, these poor layers are rarely produc- 
tive, and only the best layers in the flock are laying at 
this time, consequently, if the birds are scored for pro- 
ductiveness then, those that are thoroughly bleached out, 
.showing that they are still laying, will be found to be the 
most persistent producers in the flock, and hence the ones 
that have the largest egg yields to their credit. 




' '•!c«aui>^ dfi&i 



FIG. 102— PARTIAL VIEW OF BUILDINGS AND YARDS AT VINELAND EGG LAYING CONTEST 



THE VALUE OF PIGMENTATION TESTS IN CULLING 



71 



As an illustration of the degree of accuracy realized at 
different seasons in pigment tests, also of the I'elative 
value of color tests as applied to vent, beak, and shanks, 
the follovv'ing data from Circular 197 of the California 
Experiment Station are given: 

"These tables which wei'e compiled from observations 
made during the spring and summer of U)17 upon trap 
nested S. C. White Leghorns of different ages as they 
would be found in a typical flock, show in detail how yel- 
low-color observations compare with actual trap-nest 
records. The trap-nest records are for the year ending 
August 31, 1917, which represents about the normal lay- 
ing year from molt to molt. While these tables indicate 
considerable inaccuracy in color observations as compared 
with actual trap-nest perfoi-mance, especially as regards 
the medium and poor layers, the general trend of the re- 



rations fed. age of fowls, yarding conditions, etc. 

Leghorn hens in confinement, and given a ration 
limited in pigment will lose their yellow color in all sec- 
tions at a much more rapid rate than will fowls of the 
larger breeds. It has been found at Cornell that with 
Leghorns in close confinement, the fading of the skin 
around the vent progresses far enough to be di.stinctly 
noticeable by the time the first egg is laid. Bearing in 
mind the fact that it requires, in the neighborhood of 
two weeks for the complete development of an egg yolk, 
and remembering the e.xplanation of Professors Palmer 
and Kemp.-iter to the effect that activity in the oviduct 
promptly diverts the course of excretion of pigment from 
the skin to the ovary, it will readily be seen how this 
may occur. Under extreme conditions a few days of 
laying are sufficient to bleach out the eye ring, ear lobe, 
and the base of the beak, and the entire beak may be- 



TABLE 

Showing How Yellow-Color Observations Made On S. C. White Leghorn Hens Of Varied Ages Compare With Their Average Trap- 



nest Records For The Laying 



Date 
observed 



Shade 

of 
color 



Shanks 



(Pale .... 

5-17-17 (Medium 

(Yellow . 



6-30-17... 



(Pale .... 
.(Medium 
(Yellow . 



(Pale .... 

•20-17 (Medium 

(Yellow . 



(Pale .... 
.(Medium 
(Yellow . 



No. 
hens 

290 
16.) 
65 

364 
36 



202 
9 

5 

305 
74 
S4 



Aver, 
eggs 

147. J 
14S.5 
132.S 

157.4 
l.?2.5 
112.7 

161.5 
139.2 
122.3 

1.58.4 
135.8 
127,4 ' 



No. 
hens 



294 
136 



370 
27 



196 
U 



271 

53 

105 



Beak 



Year Ending August 31, 

Vent Shanks 



.-\ver 
eggs 

140.8 
150.3 
134.4 

158.1 
123.5 
121.7 

164 

150.3 

105.5 

162.2 
136.0 
139.2 



suits secured is .such as to warrant a reasonable measure 
of dependence on such observations in culling and grad- 
ing for egg production. 

"A study of this table would indicate that May is 
perhaps somewhat early and September a little late in 
•this section of the country to secure best results from the 
use of yellow-color indications for culling. This is 
probably due to the fact that the fowls do not lay enough 
eggs before June to affect sufficiently the yellowness of 
their shanks; and by September, many of the poor layers 
whose production approaches the line of separation be- 
tween the culls and the profit-earning hens, have already 
begun to slow down rapidly in their laying. The average 
production of the pale birds however, is so uniformly 
high in the June, July, and September obsei-vations as 
to show that the better layers may be picked out with 
considerable accuracy during these months.'" 

Pigmentation Changes Shown in Color Plates 

On pages 5 to 8 of this book are presented a number 
of color plates illustrating pigmentation changes which 
indicate different stages in egg production. These plates 
were prepared, having in mind the directions already 
given, both in this chapter and in Chapter IH, for making 
pigment tests, and should be carefully studied in order 
clearly to understand the changes that take place, and 
their practical signifiance. In the footnotes under the 
plates, also in the fuller description of them given on 
page 9, are estimates of the exact length of laying peri- 
od, as determined by amount of pigment present. It 
should be understood that these estimates represent gen- 
eral averages. In practice there will be rather wide 
variations from these estimates occasioned by breeding, 



Xo. 
hens 

4111 
73 
40 

394 

7 



207 



Av,r. 
eggs 

148.7 
145.2 
13.V9 

1.57.3 
113.1 



271 
56 
64 



162.8 
116.3 
113.2 

161.9 
143.6 
l.W,3 



No. 



24(] 
85 
48 

3.54 
15 



262 
29 

71 



1917. 

d Beak 
.\ver. 

153.6 
149.4 
131.5 

158.7 
116.2 
118.0 

164.3 
145.8 
113.2 

162.4 
122.2 
l.?3.7 



Slianks and Vent 



No. 

hens 



42 
35 



354 



Aver, 
eggs 

1.53.1 
150.2 
130.6 

1.57.4 



198 
"3 



34 
54 



162.9 

isi" 

161. S 
135.4 
134.1 



Total 
hens 

1,497 
499 
266 

1.836 
85 
22 

998 
29 
24 

1.382 
246 

378 



Total 



Total 
eggs 

150.7 
148.7 
133.0 

157.8 
121.3 
117.5 

163.1 
137.9 
121.1 

161.3 
134.6 
135.0 



less time than the 
these color plates. 



come free from pigment in much 
estimates given in connection with 
With fowls of larger breeds and with Leghorns on range, 
the estimates given will be found to be fairly accurate. 
Summary 

The yellow color of skin, beaks, and shanks, in fowls 
of the yellow-skinned breeds, is due to the presence of 
xanthophyll. a pigment common in certain poultry feeds. 

Egg production causes a rapid fading out of this pig- 
ment, leaving the naturally yellow section white or pink- 
ish white in color. 

Carotin (the yellow pigment in carrots, butter, etc.) 
has practically no influence on yolk or skin color. 

Rate at which pigment disappears from any section 
depends upon the ration, the amount of fat stored up. 
and the rapidity of blood circulation. 

Hens on grass range do not bleach out as rapidly as 
hens in confinement. 

The skin around the vent is first to lose its color, fol- 
lowed in turn by eye ring, ear lobe, lower mandible, up- 
per mandible, and shanks. 

Yellow color comes back after laying ceases in the 
same order in which it went out. but more rapidly. 

According to some observers, yellow pigment is ex- 
creted through the skin in the case of noniayers, but is 
promptly diverted to the ovary w'hen this is active. 

Experiments indicate that no yellow pigment will be 
deposited in skin, shanks, etc., as long as the fowl is 
laying, regardless of how much may be in the ration. 

' Absence of yellow in naturally yellow-skinned fowls 
indicates a long laying period, but not necessarily the 
laying of a large number of eggs. 

" Accuracy of pigment tests depends upon skill of oper- 
ator and on the season. 

Pigment tests in the fall are more apt to be accurate 
than in summer, but are fairly accurate for extremes at 
any season. 



CHAPTER IX 



How Egg Production Is Affected by Cycle and RKytlim, Rest Period, 

Broodiness, Weight, Etc. . 

Many Apparently Unimportant Characters are Closely Correlated With Productiveness in Fowls— Meaning of Rhythm 

and Cycle, and How These May Indicate Future Production — How the Summer Rest Period 

and Weight of Fowls Limit the Number of Eggs Produced — Method of 

Estimating Production by Weight of Eggs Laid 




HERE are various characters or peculiarities 
in egg production that have a more or less 
direct bearing upon the number of eggs laid 
by fowls, and some perhaps that are as help- 
ful in estimating their productiveness as are 
pigment, pelvic arch, and capacity tests. Usually they 
require an exact knowledge of individual performance for 
a longer or shorter period, such as is afforded by trap- 
nest records. While not, therefore, practicable for the use 
of the average poulti-y keeper, some of these tests are 
highly interesting and valuable, even though some still 
are in the experimental stage. 

The cycle and rhythm in which the individual fowl pro- 
duces eggs is an especially valuable inde.x to her fecundity. 
By cycle, as the word is commonly used, is meant the num- 
ber of consecutive days during which a hen lays without 
missing a day, while "rhythm" means the regularity and 
the promptness with which the cycles are repeated. In 
order to observe cycle and rhythm, trap nests are neces- 
sary, or daily physical tests as described in Chapter VII. 
In every flock the hens with the poorest cycles and 
rhythm will almost invariably be the poorest layers, but 
the exact character of their cycles and rhythm, peihaps 
even the fowls' relative standing as producers, will be de- 
termined quite largely by whether or not conditions are 
reasonably favorable, not only for the flock as a whole. 
but for individual requirements. Many fowls, because of 
timidity or lack of adaptability to the ration regularly 









w 




VINELAND INTERNATIONAL EGG UYING AND BREEDING CONTEST 

New Jer*«y Agncullural Experimcal Station 
NOVCMBCn V I9ie - OCTOBCn-ai. 1919 






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FIG. 



103— EGG RECORD OF A HEN WITH POOR CYCLES 
Courtesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station, 



fed, never get a chance to develop cycles and rhythm that 
fairly represent them. This really has no practical bear- 
ing upon the matter, however. The mere fact that they 
are not able to function normally under conditions that 
permit other fowls to do so is a good-enough reason for 
discarding them. 

Professor H. R. Lewis of the N. J. Experiment Station, 
having the trap-nested pens of the Vineland Egg Laying 
Contest under his supervision, is in an exceptionally fav- 
orable position for studying cycle and 'rhythm. His meth- 
od of utilizing these in estimating production is described 
in the following article; 

Observations on Cycle and Rhythm at the 
New Jersey Experiment Station 

The Well-known Differences in Egg Records Made by 

Hens Are 1 argely Due to Distinct Variations in 

Their Inherent Ability as Producers — This 

Ability .\ppears to Be Indicated by 

the Cycle and Rhythm in 

Which Eggs Are Laid 

By PROF. H. R. LEWIS 

WE have had an exceptionally good opportunity to 
study the relation of cycle and rhythm to egg 
production through the records secured at the 

Vineland contest, and have come to attach quite a good 

deal of importance to this. 

By cycle is meant the number of eggs which a bird 

lays successively without a skip. Hens have two-egg 
cycles, three-egg cycles, and longer. 
Leghorns generally lay with a very 
regular rhythm, but short cycles fre- 
quently repeated. The American 
breeds generally have longer cycles 
with longer rest periods. 

By rhythm is meant the frequency 
or order in which the cycles are re- 
peated. For example, in November 
and December, as the pullets start to 
lay, we find one which lays one egg 
and skips a day, one egg and skips, 
repeating this performance regular- 
ly. We may say that she is a 50 per 
cent producer. On the other hand, 
if we find a hen which lays three 
eggs, skips a day, three eggs, skips 
a day, and repeats this cycle and 
rhythm with great regularity, we 
may say this hen is a 75 per cent pro- 
ducer, and far superior as a winter 
layer to the 50 per cent bird. Again 
we frequently find hens which lay an 
egg and skip two or three days, lay 



HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYTHM, REST PERIOD, ETC. 73 



another egg and skip three days. Such birds are only 
25 per cent producers, and are very poor .specimens to 
keep for .sustained production. We are convinced that 
the trapping of pullets in their laying year and the de- 
termination of their cycle and rhythm is one of the best 
methods by which we can foretell, in a practical way, the 
probable future production of the individual being studied. 
By way of illustrating cycle and rhythm, the daily 
egg records of three contest hens are reproduced in Figures 
103, 104, and 105 which show clearlv the wav in which 



On the Rhythm of Egg Production 

Hens, Particularly if Good Layers, Tend to Produce Eggs 

.\ccording to a More or Less Regular Schedule as 

to Time of Day -Rhythm .Appears to Be 

Independent of Egg Formation 

BY DR. H. D. GOODALE* 



E 



VINaANO INTERNATIONAL EGG LAYING AND BREEDING CONTEST 

New Jmey Agncullural tspenmeol Station 
NOVEMBER 1. 1916 OCTOBER 3t. 1919 



T»S.c.Whlt« l^ghotn. 



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HoilllstOB Hill Pooltry Farm. 



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DITORIAL NOTE— The author of this article was 
one of the first to note the rhythmic nature of egg 
production, and his observations here recorded shed much 
light on this subject. To avoid pos- 
sible confusion, it may be well to ex- 
plain that the term "rhythm" is not 
= here used in quite the same sense as 
in the article by Prof. Lewis. There 
" is, however, no contradiction between 
- the two. Dr. Goodale recognizes a 
^ "daily rhythm" and larger "superim- 
", posed rhythm". In Professor Lewis' 
~ article, and in common usage, the 
"daily rhythm" now is called "cycle", 
''_ "rhythm" being used to indicate the 
_ rate of repetition of "cycles", or the 
_ "superimposed rhythm" as here de- 
_ scribed by Dr. Goodale. 



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104— EGG RECORD OF A LAVING HEN WITH GOOD CVCLES 
Courtesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



.Whlta Leghorn . 
J. Percy Tan Zandt. 



Owners aodres 



cycle and ihythm may be used as a measure of produc- 
tion. 

Fig. 103 shows a bird with very poor winter produc- 
tion and with no tendency toward development of cycle 
and rhythm. In the natural laying season, or from March 
to April, she attained a fairly good production, though 
showing an undesirable and ununi- 
fonn production. 

Fig. 104 shows a better hen, one 
which early indicated a tendency to 
produce an egg every other day 
through the winter, and which, in the 
spring, maintained a fairly sustained 
cycle and rhythm, laying three eggs 
and skipping one day with a good de- 
gree of uniformity. 

Fig. 105 shows an exceptionally 
fine example of pullet development 
with a good laying cycle and uniform 
rhythm. It will be noted that this 
hen started in November, regularly 
laying three or four eggs with only 
a skip of one day, and maintained 
this with great uniformity thi-oughout 
the year, increasing the length of the 
cycle during the heavy producing 
season, or in March and April, drop- 
ping back again toward the four-egg 
cycle in June and July. Birds which 
develop such long and pronounced 
cycles in the winter of their pullet 
laying year are almost without excep- 
tion remarkable producers. 



HE term rhythm of egg produc- 
tion is used rather than rate, 
in order to emphasize tlie 
rhythmical character of egg extru- 
sion. Although true that the ob- 
served rhythm is by no means regu- 
lar, still each hen often tends to pro- 
duce eggs according to a fairly char- 
acteristic rhythm. Superimposed on 
the daily rhythm are evidences of 
other rhythms having a beat measur- 
ed by months or years. Of course, 
from another standpoint, egg production is a more or less 
continuous process. 

Rhythm as Shown by Time of Day the Egg Is Laid 
The time of day at which the eggs have been collected 
from the trap nests has been recorded at half-hour inter- 



*JournaI of American Association 
in Poiiltrv Husbamiry, 



Instructors and Investigators 
ol. I. No. 3. 



VINELAND INTERNATIONAL EGG LAYING AND BREEDING CONTEST 

New Jer»ey Agncullural Expenmrnl StfctJon 
NOVEMBER I. 1916 OCTOBtR 31. 1919 



Record 



1 at 



«Ye*r 



JAN. 



SEPT 
OCT 



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REMARK 



3 .6 M oult Sept .1st ._ 



2.8 



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FK;. 1U5-(.00D CVCLES with frequent .\ND l.NIFORM RHVTHM 
Courtesy of the New Jersey E.xperiment Station. 



74 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



vals, and as they are collected at least every hour and a 
half, the time when collected represents approximately 
the time when the egg was dropped. This data has not 
yet been reduced, but some interesting facts are easily 
observed on inspection. 

Most hens lay for a period of several days and then 
skip one. The first day of a series the hen lays early in 
the morning. The time she lays the next day depends 
largely on the character of her particular rhythm. If 
the rhythm is such that she lays only every other day, 
she usually lays about the same time each day, i. e. 10, 
0, 11, 0, 10, 0, 11. If she lays two days out of three, the 
first egg is laid during the morning and the second dur- 
ing the afternoon, i. e. 10, 3, 0, 10, 2, 0, 9, 1, 5, 0. As 




FIG. 100— HOW CVCLKS AND RHYTHM ARE PRODUCED 
This illustration shows the egg organs, the ovaries removed, and 60-day records oi 
si.x hens. Hen No. 1 had cycles of good length (as is shown by her daily record) and good 
rhythm. Hen No. 6 had neither good cycles nor rhythm. Hen No. 3 had good cycles but 
with a poor rhythm, while hens Nos. 4 and 5 had good rhythm but poor cycles. Hen No. 2. 
while a good producer, w^s irregular in both cycles and rhythm. The varying number of 
yolks in the ovaries and' the different stages of their development explain the cause of 
\ariations in cycle and rhythm. Photo from Dr. C. T. Patterson. 



the period lengthens, the number laid in the morning in- 
creases until the larger proportion are laid before noon. 
Thus: 8, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 10, 9, .5, 11, 11, 5. 11, 11, 
2, 2, 4, 0. There is, however, much variation. 

Types of Rhythm 

As a working basis, we may assume an egg a day as 
a standard rhythm, and, although this rhythm is rarely 
reached for extended periods, we may refer the observed 
rhythm to it. Some hens lay every other day or, we 
may say, a 1-2 rhythm, others 2-3, i. e. 2 days out of 3. 
others 3-4, and so on. Occasionally the series may be 
repeated without the intervention of a zero day. 

None of these types are characteristic of any one hen. 
Many individuals, however, seem to center about a par- 
ticular rhythm, e. g. 2-3. While these individuals may fall 
to the 1-2 type, they do not often, except in the spring. 
exceed the 3-4 type. While little stress can be laid on 
this point, it is interesting to note this tendency partic- 
ularly in certain individuals. 



Rhythm and High Egg Production 

Pearl found on the basis of winter egg production 
that his birds fell into three classes, viz., high, mediocre, 
and zero producers. The dividing line between the high 
and mediocre producers came at about 30 eggs. Our 
statistics are in essential agreement with this statement. 
Observation, however, shows great variation in the num- 
ber of eggs laid by birds in the over-30 class. Brood- 
iness, age, and time at which laying commences in the 
fall all influence the number of eggs laid. But aside 
from these factors, birds of the same age, beginning to 
lay at approximately the same time, and which do not 
become broody, do not lay at the same rate. 

Here are two full sisters, hatched the same day, one 
of which, after making due allowance 
for the advantage gained by a two 
weeks' start of the better bird, laid 
43 against 69. The records show that 
one bird laid only about every other 
ilay. while the second laid about 5 
(lays out of G. The rhythm, then, is 
an important factor in determining 
the absolute number of eggs laid. 

Rhythm and High Egg Production 

The curve of the winter egg pro- 
duction of our flock does not slope 
evenly to the base line, but forms a 
shoulder at 70-80 eggs. This should- 
er I take to be an indication, from a 
genetic standpoint, of a group of in- 
dividuals differing genotypically in 
their capacity for egg production 
from the remainder of the high class. 
The existence of this group must be 
due in part to the high frequency 
pullets. Various causes may inter- 
fere with the normal rhythm, such 
as environment, season, method of 
management, and internal factors, as 
broodiness. The inheritance of egg 
rhythm is a subject on which we have 
little data. Full sisters, however, 
may lay at different rates so that if 
rhythm is inherited it indicates segre- 
gation. 



Rhythm Independent of Formation and Growth of an Egg 

One of the most interesting things in connection with 
the rhythm of egg production as obser\'ed by Pearl is the 
existence of hens which never lay an egg, but which visit 
the nests according to a definite rythm. We are able 
to add to this record for we find the hours of such visits 
fall into the same sort of rhythm as normal hens. These 
facts point strongly to the existence of some mechanism 
other than the formation and depositation of an egg which 
controls the extrusion of the egg. It is interesting to note 
that if one of these hens is removed from the nest before 
she is ready to leave, she returns and persists in doing so 
until, shall we say, she thinks she has laid her egg. 

Laying hens often visit the nest at the proper day and 
hour, but fail to lay. Such hens usually lay the day 
previous and the day after in regular routine, though at 
times they may pay two or more such nonproductive 
visits in succession. One hen laid well during the winter, 
and then stopped producing eggs although continuing 



HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYTHM, REST PERIOD, ETC. 75 



to visit the nest in about the same rhythm as when laying. 
(In Chapter XVI the reader will find a physiological ex- 
planation of how the foregoing may occur. — Ed.) 




yfek/ JakI flarl fhyi July\ 'Sefiti 




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FIG. 107— .WER.-^GE WEIGHT OF FOWLS OF DIFFERENT BREEDS AS ENTERED 
IN THE VINELAND EGG LAYING AND BREEDING CONTEST 

As explained in this chapter, fowls of approximately standard weight for the breed 
lay better than those that are noticeably above or below that weight. This graph 
shows the average monthly weight of the Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, and 
Plymouth Rocks entered in the New Jersey Contest. Courtesy of the New Jersey Experi- 
ment Station. 



The Rest Period in Relation to Egg 
Production 

There Is a Distinct Correlation Between the Length of the 
Average Hen's Summer Rest Period and the Num- 
ber of Eggs Produced by Her During Year- 
Body Weight and Broodiness Also 

Are Important Factors 
BY PROFESSOR H. R. LEWIS 

WITH the exception of ejttremely high producers, 
practically all layers have periods of nonproduc- 
tiveness of greater or less length, commonly 
called the "rest period". The average bird molts a part 
or all of her feathers during these periods. The frequency 
and the duration of these vary greatly with individual 
fowls, and in order to determine whether there is any 
correlation between the length of the rest period and egg 
production, a careful study was made of the short-time 
periods in the Vineland Egg Laying and Breeding Contest 
with reference to this character. A particular object in 
doing this was to determine just what would be the loss 
as regards total egg production, if the birds that took 
a summer vacation were disposed of on the basis of that 
test but that, if retained in the flock, would have come 
back into laying again later in the season. In other 
words, this study was with special reference to the prob- 
able losses due to early culling. 

The correlation table shown on this page indicates quite 
clearly that there is a positive and clear-cut correlation 
between the shortness of the rest period and the number 
of eggs laid. Leghorns only are represented in this table 
(Fig. 108), but data at hand show the same correlation 
existing in the production of heavy breeds. 

In studying the table, it will be noted that out of a 
total population of 532 birds, 347 laid over 150 eggs and 
rested only from 1 to 70 days, while out of 120 birds 
which rested longer than 70 days only 30 laid over 150 



eggs. Out of 422 birds which rested from 1 to 70 days 
(a comparatively short rest) there were only 75 which 
did not lay over 150 eggs. A curve drawn over the cor- 
relation table would show that as 
the days of rest decrease the num- 
ber of eggs increases. It will be 
noted that every bird which rested 
more than 130 days, with the ex- 
ception of only one individual, did 
not lay over 150 eggs. So it may 
be said that the number of eggs 
laid by a hen in a year is in defi- 
nite direct proportion to the length 
of her rest period during the sum- 
mer. It is also an assured fact 
that the earlier a hen starts to rest 
in summer the longer vnW be her 
rest period. Hence, by culling the 
hens which rest early in the sum- 
mer, say from June to the middle 
of August, we are automatically 
eliminating the poor hens or those 
which rest a long time and which 
lay less than 150 eggs. Again, by 
keeping those hens which lay late 
and which do not rest until about 
the first of September, we keep 
those hens which lay a relatively 
large number of eggs. 
At the bottom of the correlation table will be seen 
figures which show the number of hens coming back into 
laying following a summer rest period taken before No- 
vember 1st. It will be seen that out of 56 hens resting 
from 1 to 10 days, only one came into laying again. But 
what is of even greater significance and importance is 
the fact, as shown by these figures, that out of the 532 
birds which took a rest period from June 1st to Novem- 
ber 1st, only 45 came back into laying again by November 
1st and these 45 succeeded in laying only 135 eggs, or an 
average of 3 eggs per bird. 

The horizontal column at the bottom of each table, 
marked "Weighted Average", gives the average egg pro- 
duction of the number of birds falling in each particular 
group. For instance, in the table showing the correla- 

COHBILITIOS 0» ESS PiiOl)OCTIO« ilTH LESOTB 

0? smOfKE HIST PKBIOD 

Legbornl 







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FIG. 



108— CORRELATION OF EGG PRODUCTION WITH 
REST PERIOD 



This table shows clearly the rapid decrease in the number 
of prod\ictive fowls as the length of the rest period increases. 
"Rest period" means the time during which the hens were not 
laying, regardless of whether they were broody or not. Cour- 
tesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



76 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



tion of egg production with length of summer rest period, 
we find that the weighted average production for the 56 
birds taking a rest period of from one to ten days was 
224 eggs. Likewise, in the second group, there were 35 
birds taking a rest period of from eleven to twenty days. 
The weighted average production of these 35 birds was 
206 eggs. 

lORMLATIOH 0? PHODDOTIOS WITH BODY 1IEI8HI 

HEAVY BREBDS ^ 

Weight In Founds e 





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124 


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FIG. 109— CORRELATION OF PRODUCTION WITH BODY 
WEIGHTS— HEAVY BREEDS 

This table is prepared to illustrate the statement made else- 
where in this chapter to the effect that hens approximating stand- 
ard weight are more productive than those that are much over or 
under weight. Breeds represented are Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 
dottes, and Rhode Island Reds. Courtesy of the New Jersey Ex- 
periment Station. 

We note that as the days of rest periods increase, due 
to molting in the late summer, the weighted average pro- 
duction for the birds in each succeeding group DE- 
CREASES until we find that 21 birds resting over 131 
days have a weighted average per bird of only 83 eggs. 

It seems to be an assured fact that the culling of 
hens that stop laying and take a rest period in the early 
summer is a safe practice, for by so doing the low-pro- 
ducing hens naturally are sold and the expense of car- 
ing for these fowls is eliminated. Futhermore, it is 
entirely possible to detect hens that have stopped laying 
and have gone into their rest period, by studying cer- 
tain external characters. The culling of hens by exter- 
nal characters is bound to take a more and more impor- 
tant place in poultry management. It is one of the sur- 
est and quickest means of reducing co.st of production. 



Correlation of Production With Body Weights 

According to the records at the Vineland Egg Laying 
and Breeding Contest, there is a rather distinct corre- 
lation between body weight and production. It was found 
there that among the light breeds, chiefly Leghorns, the 
best producers were fowls whose weight ranged from 
three to four pounds. Fowls weighing less than three 
pounds or over four and one-half were comparatively in- 
ferior producers. 

With reference to the larsrer breeds it was found that 
the best producers were within the weights of five and 
seven and one-half pounds, the latter weight applying 
particularly to .Plymouth Rocks. In other words, the 
standard size for such breeds as Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 
dottes, R. I. Reds, etc., are approximately the weights 
within which the best production within the breed is 
secured. Using the records of the Vineland Egg Laying 
and Breeding Contest as a basis. Professor Lewis of the 



New Jersey Experiment Station has had prepared two 
tables showing the correlation between the weights of 
the light and heavy breeds (see Figs. 109 and 110) and 
their production during their first and second years. He 
states that "We find that the Leghorns averaging 3 1-2 
to 4 pounds are the best producers; that smaller birds 
than this are less productive. In our heavy breeds the 
same thing is true — namely, that the nearer the required 
standard weight they can be bred, apparently the better 
producers on the average they will be." 

Relation of Brocdiness to Egg Production 

Poultry keepers who have fowls that become broody 
find that, in addition to the annoyance of having to care 
for them and break them up, the time spent in broodiness 
often represents a definite loss in production. A number 
of attempts have been made to show the loss of time 
or of production due to the fowls becoming broody. This- 
subject has been quite thoroughly studied at the New 
Jersey Experiment Station, using the records secured at 
the Vineland Egg Laying and Breeding Contest, and the 
charts prepared (see Figs. Ill and 112) .show the ap- 
parent loss of time due to broodiness in Plymouth Rocks. 
Wyandottes, and R. I. Reds, as compared with Leghorns. 

It should be borne in mind, however, that in actual 
practice there may not be quite as much difference be- 
tween the heavy and light breeds in this respect as ap- 
pears on the surface. Leghorns .spend about as much 
time resting during the laying season as do the larger 
breeds but, because they do not become broody or rarely 
so, the fact is not so apparent. A great deal depends 
upon the care that the poultry keeper gives to his fowls 
and the promptness with which broodiness is broken up. 
If the hens are promptly removed from the nests as soon 
as they show signs of becoming broody, and are placed 
in suitable coops or .similar quarters where they will 
have no opportunity to ,sit, they will soon change their 
minds, and in a comparatively .short time will resume lay- 
ing again. If neglected, however, and allowed to sit on 
the ne.st week after week, there is no question about the 
fact that their average production for the year will be 
seriously cut down. 

To show that the time spent in broodiness does not 
necessarily represent a definite loss in production, with 
proper management, but rather a simple rest period such 
as is taken also by the nonsitting Leghorns, the follow- 

OORBBLATIOH 0? PBODUOTIOB WITH BODY WIISET 

LISHT BEEBDS ^ 

Weight In PounlB ^ 





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7 ..fi 


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36 


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Sieo-151 








1 




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16 


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19 


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u Total 








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p.l 


61 


144 


174 


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ATK. 








170 




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173 


176 


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FIG. 110— CORREL.\TION OF PRODUCTION WITH BODY 
WEIGHTS— LIGHT BREEDS 

Fowls represented in the above table are chiefly Leghorns. It 
is quite clear from this table that the most productive birds in 
the light breeds are those whose weight is around 3 1-2 to 4 lbs. 
Courtesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYTHM, REST PERIOD. ETC. 77 



ing table ha.s been prepared from data secured in the 
Sixth National Egg Laying Contest at Mountain 
Grove, Missouri. Commenting on the.se data. Direc- 
tor Noland states: "I do not think broodiness has 
very much to do with egg production. A hen may be an 
e.xtra-good layer and although .she may go broody a num- 
ber of times in the season, yet she will finish with a good 
egg record. Usually a high-laying hen, when broody, 
will begin laying again in a week or ten days after being 
broken up, if properly cared for, and this period repre- 
sents nothing more than a reasonable rest period — no 
more than is taken by the nonsitting breeds, as a rule. 
I think the length of the brooding period, however, is de- 
termined quite largely by the individual rather than the 
breed. It appears to be a matter of strain rather than 
of breed." 

TABLE SHOWING CORRELATION BETWEEN BROODINESS 
AND EGG PRODUCTION 



Per Cent 
of 200- 
Egg Hens 
29.1 

37.5 

n 

28.6 

Si.xth -An- 
Missoiiri. 



No. Per Cent Average 

Hens Broodi- Eggs 

N'ariety ness 

Plymouth Rocks .i-i 198 176 

Rhode Island Reds 40 278 182.4 

Wvandottes 25 164 184 

Leghorns 70 19.5 178.3 

Tile data in ahuve table were secured duriTig the 
ntial National Egg Laying Contest at Mountain Grove, 
It will be seen by comparing the average egg production ot differ 
ent breeds represented that, in spite of the much greater percent- 
age of broodiness among the heavy breeds, they still averaged ti> 
lay fully as well as the Leghorns, and even exceeded them a little 
in percentage of 200-egg I.iyers, 

As a matter of convenience and of efficiency in the 
poultry yard, the breeder naturally will aim to eliminate 
the most persistently broody hens in his flock and those 
that become broody at frequent intervals, though care 
should be taken that in so doing he does not also throw 
out some of his best layers. 

At What Age Do Fowls Cease To Be Profitably 
Productive? 

In the average flock there is a distinct correlation be- 
tween the percentages of pullets and hens comprising it 
and the net income realized by the owner. This is due 
to the fact that, while a certain proportion of hens must 
be kept for breeding, the pullets are much more productive. 

While there are many hens that reach their highest 
annual production in their second or even their third lay- 







•npet Year )— 



FIG. Ill— DIAGRAM SHOWING NUMBER OF DAYS LOST BY 
BROODY HENS DURING A YEAR 

Note in this diagram that while the per cent of broodiness is 

less the second year than the first (see Fig. 112), the number of 

days lost per hen is greater in the second year. In other words, 

one-year-old hens are harder to "break up" than pullets. Courtesy 

i the New Jersey Experiment Station. 



ing year, there is, on. the average, a marked falling off 
in the number of eggs produced each year after the first. 
At the Utah Experiment SUtion the average production 
of unselected Leghorn flocks was found to be as follows: 
Year 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 

No. of Eggs 124 119 106 82 74 66 51 52 




FIG 112-DIAGRAM SHOWING RELATIVE PERCENTAGE OF 
BROODY HENS IN DIFFERENT BREEDS 

Contrary to what would naturally be expected, the per cent of 
broody hens to total number is smaller in the second year than 
in the first. The data represented in this diagram, also in the 
diagram shown in Fig. Ill, were secured at the Vineland Egg Lay- 
ing Contest. Courtesy of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 

The percentage of decrease from year to year appears 
to be much greater in heavy-laying flocks. The bulletin 
from which the foregoing figures are taken (Utah Bul- 
letin 148) states that the average production of selected 
Leghorn flocks (including data from various laying con- 
tests) was 180 the first year, 146 the second, and 119 the 
third. Among fowls of the larger breeds the annual 
decrease in production is considerably greater than in 
Leghorn flocks. In the bulletin just referred to, the pro- 
duction of selected flocks of general-purpose breeds is 
given as 177 for the first year, 116 for the second, and 
93 for the third 

A study of these figures will make plain why the com- 
mercial poultry keeper seldom keeps hens beyond the 
end of their second laying season, unless they are to be 
used in breeding pens. It is true that individual fowls 
often prove to be better layers in their second and even 
m their third year than in their first, due to their being 
hatched late or to other conditions that were not favor- 
able to maximum production the first year. The hen 
shown in Fig. 113, for example, has the remarkable trap- 
nest record given in footnote. It clearly would have been 
a mistake to have disposed of her as a poor layer at the 
end of her first year. It is very doubtful, however, wheth- 
er the number of such Ihens is large enough to make it 
worth while for the practical poultry keeper to take 
them into consideration, especially since few have any 
means of identifying such individuals. Another reason 
for disposing of hens at a comparatively early age, that 
is even more important than the falling off in total num- 
ber of eggs produced, is the fact that the profit realized 
from yearling or older hens rarely equals that securod 
in their pullet year, since, even though such hens may lay 
a fair number of eggs, these are produced mainly dur- 
ing the low-price season. 



78 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



Selecting Fowls by the "Patterson Index" 

Relative Accuracy of Different Methods of Testing Hens 

for Productiveness Compared — Tfiis Article Also 

Presents a Method of Determining a Hen's 

Probable Egg Record Where Her 

Productiveness for a Short 

Period is Definitely 

Known 

By DR. C. T. PATTERSON 

ONE of the most important subjects connected with 
the poultry business is the subject of selection, and 
the ability of the poultrjinan properly to select 
for a definite purpose usually determines the degree of 
his success. The continuous process of selection practiced 
by nature on both plants and animals, which results in the 
"survival of the fittest", is not a good practice for the 
farmer or poultryman, for weeds will survive and corn be 
destroyed if natural selection is followed; and if a large 




KECOUD 



»wi,.-'-i-r ■'■■»• 



sHLE EGG I..\VIXG 



Some hens do not Iiave an opportunity to do their best work 
the first year, due to late hatching or unfavorable environment. 
The hen illustrated above (Cornell No. D1437) has the following 
trap-nest records: 191.S-16. IH eggs; 1916-17. 193; 1917-18, 186; 
191S-19, 158. Photo from Cornell University. 

number of chicks are crowded together till nature selects 
the stronger and destroys the weaker, the birds of high 
production suffer most. 

In the development of poultry many ideals have been 
fixed, each calling for a different method of selection. 
Some of the characters for which poultrymen select and 
breed are: — The production of eggs, meat, color, size, 
shape, vitality, etc., and some characters of less impor- 
tance, such as broodiness, disposition, etc. Each of 
these characters requires special attention. In this ar- 
ticle selection for productiveness alone is considered. 

Every one who has observed the performance of hens 
recognizes the fact that there is a great variation in the 
production of different hens in the same flock. The prob- 
lem which concerns most poultrymen is how to select the 
high and low producers, the former to be used as breeders 
and the latter to be removed from the flock. 



Methods of selection for productiveness may be divided 
into two general classes. The first class includes methods 
employed where the bird itself is examined and the char- 
acters used as a guide in selection, while for the other 
class trap nests are used for longer or shorter periods. 

Accuracy of Physical Tests 

The first method we will notice is where the number 
of hens is reduced simply by catching the number 
to be sold without any definite plan in mind, except to 
have fewer hens. This is purely a guess and probably 
would be 50 per cent accurate, i. e., 50 per cent of whatever 
number was sold would be good hens and 50 per cent would 
be poor producers. 

The Hogan System deals principally with the pelvic 
bones on each side of the vent, the ability of the hen to 
perfoi-m being measured by the shape, thinness, and rig- 
idity of these bones. The value of this system was de- 
termined in a special test in the All-Northwest Egg 
Laying Contest, where Mr. Hogan handled the hens and 
estimated the number of eggs each bird would lay. The 
accuracy of the estimates was determined in the following 
manner: The number of eggs produced by each hen, as 
recorded by the trap nest during the year, was taken as 
100 per cent and any variation from this number was 
considered an error in Mr. Hogan's estimates. To illus- 
trate, — if a hen produced 150 eggs and the estimate was 
200 eggs, the estimate was 50 eggs in error which is 33 1-3 
per cent of the 150, therefore this estimate was 66 2-3 
per cent accurate. After the per cent of accuracy for 
each hen was thus determined they were all averaged 
which gave an average of 64 per cent accuracy. 

The time when hens molt is sometimes used as a guide 
in selecting the high and low producers. The basis used 
in determining the value of this method is that the later 
the hens molt the higher the production, and the earlier 
they molt the lower the production. In a concrete test of 
this method we allowed the last two weeks of October for 
the normal molt so that hens which molted, or rather 
stopped laying on account of the molt, during the last two 
weeks of October, were considered average with a pro- 
duction of 150 eggs each, which was the average for the 
2,000 hens tested. For each day the hen continued to lay 
after November 1st, three eggs were added to the 150, 
and for each day the hen missed before October 15th on 
account of the molt, three eggs were taken from the 150. 
In this test selection by molt proved to be 68 per cent 
accurate. It should be noted that broodiness, feed, houses, 
health, etc.. affect the molt so that in making a compara- 
tive test, hens should be kept under the same conditions. 

Another method often used is to select the winter lay- 
ers as the high producers. In one test the average pro- 
duction per hen in a flock of 2,000 hens was 25 eggs for 
November, December, January, and February, and the 
average for the year was 150. It was found that for each 
egg laid during these months the hen would lay six eggs 
during the year, hence by multiplying each hen's produc- 
tion during November, December, January, and February 
by six, her total year's production can be approximated. 
In a careful test this method was found to be 69 per cent 
accurate. 

The shank-color test is often used with hens which 
have yellow shanks. The fowls whose shanks bleached 
out first were considered the highest producers, and the 
ones which retained the yellow color the longest were 



HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYTHM, REST PERIOD, ETC. 



79 



considered the lowest, etc. This method proved to be 70 
per cent accurate. 

The shank-color test when applied on the 15th of 
March, April, and May proved to be the most satisfactory 
of any of the tests where the trap nests were not used. 
The test was applied as follows: On the ISth of March 
all hens in the flock which had yellow shanks were banded, 
then on April 15th all hens with yellow shanks were 
banded, and again on May 15th the same process was 
followed. All hens with three bands on were of course 
the lowest producers, the ones with two bands on were 
the next higher, the ones with one band were the next, 
while the ones with no bands on were the highest. The 
test applied in this way is about 82 per cent accurate. 
.\11 fowls were kept under the same conditions and start- 
ed with good, rich yellow shanks. 

Another method often practiced is selecting by weight. 
In applying this test, fowls having the weights fixed by 
the "American Standard of Perfection" were taken as 
the highest producers, and one-fourth pound was used as 
a scale for recording variations. The farther the weight 
varied from the standard, up or down, the lower the pro- 
duction was considered. The hens were weighed only 
three times during the year which is not a good basis for 
averaging the weiglits. The results given however, in- 
dicate that to select by weight alone is about GO per cent 
accurate. 

Another test often used is to select the earliest ma- 
turing pullets as the highest producers, taking- November 
first as the beginning date. This method proved to be 
05 per cent accurate. A difficulty in using this test is 
the different ages of pullets. 



Short Period Trap-nest Records 

The second class or group of methods of selection is 
the interpretation of trap-nest records. Through use 
or custom the year has become the standard measure of 
a hen's production. Every one familiar with trap-nest 
records recognizes the fact that one year is not a true 
measure of a hen's performance. The value of one 
year's record as a basis for selection is estimated by 
comparing each hen's record for one year with her record 
for four years. The results indicate that the first year's 
trap-nest record is only 72 per cent accurate, the second 
year's trap-nest record is 79 per cent 
accurate, while the third year's trap- 
nest record is 81 per cent accurate. It 
will be seen from this that in trap 
nesting for one year, only 73 per cent 
of the good hens are located. In oth- 
er words, of the number selected as 
high producers in a term of four 
years 28 in every 100 prove poor pro- 
ducers, and in every 100 discarded as 
poor producers there are 28 that will 
prove good layers in the following 
year or years. 

Cycle and rhythm is a practical 
method of selecting high and low pro- 
ducers from trap-nest records. The 
cycle is the number of eggs a hen 
lays without missing a day, while the 
rhythm is the continuation or repeti- 
tion of these cycles. The hen which 
lays as many as three or more 



eggs in a cycle, and after missing only one day pro- 
duces another cycle of equal length and continues at 
this rate for at least sixty days, is a high-producing hen. 
She has proven that she has ability to produce eggs at a 
rapid rate and has a constitution which is strong enough 
to hold up under heavy production. The sixty days cover 
a period long enough to demonstrate whether the hen 
will be affected by broodiness, the increase or decrease of 
fat, or any change in climatic or weather conditions. 
Through a careful study of the cycle and rhythm of egg 
production the Patterson Index Method of Selection was 
developed. This method when compared with either one 
or four-year records of hens proved to be 87 per cent ac- 
curate, which is the best .showing made by any method 
tested. 

The Patterson Index Explained 

Nature has fixed a maximum producing standard of 
an egg each day. The hen which produces an egg each 
day for thirty days has a perfect rate, and if she contin- 
ues to produce at this rate for the next thirty days she 
has a perfect persistency, endurance, or ability to con- 
tinue. Then multiply the rate by persistency and we get 
the life's production. Thus, a thirty-egg rate multiplied 
by a thirty-egg persistency equals 900 eggs which is the 
hen's estimated life production and, as the first year's 
production as an average is one-third of the life's pro- 
duction, the perfect year would be 300 eggs. Now we 
have the perfect rate of thirty eggs in thirty days, the 
perfect persistency of thirty eggs during the next thirty 
days, the perfect life's production of 900 eggs, and the 
perfect first year's production of 300 eggs. 

If a hen produces 24 eggs during thirty days and 25 
eggs dui-ing the next thirty days, her life's production 
would be 600 eggs and her first year's record should be 
200 eggs. The hen which produces 21 eggs during thirty 
days and twenty during the next thirty days has a life 
index of 420 eggs or a year's index of 140 eggs. 

The time to make this test is during the spring season 
of the first laying year, because it is when the hen is 
given every possible advantage that it becomes possible 
to measure her ability to perform. If her performance is 
measured under adverse conditions such as poor houses. 



TABLE ILLUSTRATING PATTERSON ItffiEX ME-THOD OF ESTABLISHING 
LAYISG y.UUS OF IIHNS 



UO 


Hot 


Dec 


Jan 


Feb 


liar 


f.pr 


May 


.Jujie 


July 


Auy 


Sept 


Oct 


1 yr 


In- 
aex 


4yr 


In- 
dex 


1 


10 








7 


18 


21 


29 


27 


27 


^3 


20 


19 


201 


261 


772 


783 


2 





7 


3 


25 


27 


24 


25 


22 


.■J3 


14 


24 


21 


230 


225 


671 


675 
550 


3 





16 


19 


17 


22 


25 


20 


19 


13 


20 


20 


6 


199 


183 


503 


4 





15 





7 


22 


24 


21 


21 


19 


21 


2i 


17 


191 


176 


490 


528 


'5 





9 


22 


19 


25 


23 


12 


19 


15 


22 


14 


5 


195 


192 


4-52 


525 


6 





6 


9 


9 


19 


20 


22 


20^ 
16 


18 


14 








137 


147 


45 n 


440 


7 








9 


16 


?,3 


?A 


21 


11 


11 


17 


12 


160 


164 


493 


493 


8 





4 


16 


15 


17 


20 


20 


24 


12 


11 


14 





160 


150 


469 


4Q0 


9 


7 


1.3 








3 


12 


12 


18 














65 


77 


232 


215 


in 














9 


?.1 


7 


16 














53 


63 


198 


189 


Ave 


•apes 
























158 


164 


475 


408 1 



Table showing record of 10 hens— number of eggs produced each month, the number for 
one year and the number for four years. The index value is shown for one year, also for 
life. For practical work multiply the two highest consecutive months together for the 
life's index anrl take one-third of this for one year. 



80 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



bad feed, and changeable weather, the records would mean 
that the hen's ability was equal to her performance plus 
the handicaps; and if the handicaps form an unknown 
quantity her performing ability cannot be determined 
from such records. But where all advantages are given 
to the hen a true measure can be secured of her perform- 
ing ability. 

There is no arbitrary time for making this test but 
the most practical time is to trap nest through March, 
April, May, and June, selecting the highest sixty con- 
secutive days during this time. 

Selecting Heavy Layers By the Weight 
of Their Eggs 

This Article Suggests a Means of Detecting High and 

Low-producing Hens, Doing so by Comparing 

the Weights of the Eggs Laid by Them 

at Different Seasons 

BY DR. PHILIP HADLEY 

IN connection with a study of the manner of inherit- 
ance of egg-weight in the domestic fowl, conducted 
for several years at the Rhode Island Agricultural 
Experiment Station, there has been evolved a new method 
for the detection of those birds in a flock that are char- 
acterized by higher producing ability. The method is 
not based upon data involving observed numerical pro- 
duction in any way, but upon the tendency on the part 
of normal hens to manifest, at certain periods of the year, 
a gradual increase or a gradual decline in the size and 
weight of the eggs which they lay. 

It has been found that when the numerical production 
curve of a flock of hens of the same approximate age and 
condition, and characterized by mediocre producing abil- 
ity, is plotted on monthly ordinates (aside from the mode 
of December production of the pullet year, which is some- 
times manifested if the hens were hatched very early in 
the season or are high producers), two modes appear, one 
in April and one in September. These modes, or maxima, 
represent the peaks of production for the pullet year. 

It has also been found that when the curve of mean 
egg-weight is plotted on similar monthly ordinates, two 
modal points appear, one in April and the other in Septem- 
ber. These weight modes, or weight maxima, are approx- 
imately coincident with the production maxima. 

When, however, one analyzes the performance of indi- 
vidual birds at the period of these maxima, one finds that, 
while the majority show an egg-weight which has mark- 
edly increased over the mean weight of the first ten eggs 
laid at the beginning of the laying year, some have not 
shown such an increase, and some have shown an actual 
decrease. When the increase or decrease in mean egg- 
weight is measured as a percentage-increase or as a per- 
centage-decrease, some birds may show an increase of 10 
per cent or more while others show a decrease of equal 
amount. 

The question naturally arose whether the hens which 
showed the greater increase in mean egg-weight for April 
and for September also manifested the higher productions 
for the first laying year. Such correlations were com- 
puted and it was learned that in the majority of cases 
the hens which gave the higher percentage-increase in 
egg-weight during these months also showed the higher 
productions for the year. The flock could easily be 
separated into production-groups based upon the per- 



centage of increase (or decrease) in mean egg-weight. As 
a rule the correlation was more perfect in September than 
in April. 

Correlations between the percentage of increase in 
mean egg-weight and numerical production were also at- 
tempted when the former were based upon the mean 
weight of ONLY TEN EGGS laid as nearly as possible 
at the absolute weight made for April and for Septem- 
ber respectively. It was learned from these computations 
that the correlation was even more perfect when the 
smaller number of eggs was employed in the computa- 
tions. The following tables give the results for the 
spring and autumnal weight maximum, based on the 
"10-weight maxima", based on the "10-egg test." 



^ •= = s i 1 g -s 

n~cbt-o ^ k S^* 

>-£:i.bo™ S.H., M.S 

d. Pi S V .B aj-S !i.sjs 

10 per cent (increase) . 3 142 eggs 

8 per cent (increase) 7 141 eggs 

7 per cent (increase) 9 140 eggs 

<> per cent (increase) 13 133 eggs 

5 per cent (increase) 19 127 eggs 
4 per cent (increase) 22 126 eggs 
3 per cent (increase) 23 125 eggs 
2 per cent (increase) 27 123 eggs 
1 per cent (increase) 29 122 eggs 
per cent (increase) 31 122 eggs 
per cent (decrease) (j 106 eggs 

6 per cent (including decrease) 24 109 'eggs 
Total flock 37 120 eggs 

Table I 

Showing the mean annual production for the first laying year of 
groups of hens selected for varying percentages of increase or de- 
crease in niean egg-weight of ten eggs or less laid at the period 
ol the spring weight maximum. 

It may assist readers in quickly getting the meaning of this 
table to explain that each number in the second column includes 
A1,L liens in the flock, whose eggs showed a given increase in 
weight or over. For example, there were 3 hens whose eggs showed 
an increase of 10 per cent or over; there were 7 (including the 
preceding 3) whose eggs showed an increase of 8 per cent or over- 
y (including the preceding 7) whose eggs showed an increase of 7 
per cent or over, and so on. In the "O per cent (decrease)" class 
are included all whose eggs showed any decrease, while in the "6 
per cent (including decrease)" class are included all hens in the 
llock whose eggs showed a decrease, or an increase that did not 
exceed 6 per cent. 

By way of further explanation it may be stated that 
the line "0-26-124" in Table II, and all preceding lines in 
this table, mean that the eggs laid by fowls whose records 
are there presented, show an increase in weight, and that 
the increase in percentage was above the amount stated. 
The line "0-5-108" means that five hens showed a decrease 
in mean egg-weight. The line "6-19-112" indicates that 
there were nineteen hens that failed to show a percentage 
of increase of 6 per cent or higher. This group contains (a) 
hens that showed increases of less than 6 per cent and (b) 
hens that showed an actual decrease. The "6-19-112" 
class therefore includes the "0-5-108" class. 

Dividing the flock on the basis of a 6 per cent increase 
in egg-weight, we get the following results: 

Hens Eggs 

Increase of 6 per cent and over 12 139 

Increase from to 6 per cent 19 112 

Decrease 5 jQg 

The same explanations (with suitable changes in the 
figures) also apply to the data given in Table I. 

As to the serviceability of the percentage of increase 
in mean egg-weight of September eggs for estimating the 
SECOND-YEAR production, no sign of correlation is dis- 
coverable between the increase in weight of either April 
or September eggs of the first laying year, and this 
second year's production. There is, however, a correlation 



HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYTHM, REST PERIOD, ETC. 



class: 
ted for 
egg- 


-5 
.S s 


is 


c 

.0 
3 


/) il 


centage 
ds selec 
nge in 


» ,2 

■E-2 


mber of 
uals ma 
record. 


an prod 
the fir 

ing yea 


r, »• 2 






it 




CUi W u 


g 3 


Z'S-S 


S,2 iS 


13 per cent 


(increase) 


3 


147 


effps 


n per cent 


(increase) 


6 


145 


eRgs 


10 per cent 


(increase) 


7 


143 


egRs 


9 per cent 


(increase) 


8 


144 


eggs 


8 per cent 


(increase) 


10 


144 


CKKS 


7 per cent 


(increase) 


12 


139 


eggs 


6 per cent 


(increase) 


12 


139 


eggs 


5 per cent 


(increase) 


14 


135 


eggs 


4 per cent 


(increase) 


16 


134 


eggs 


3 per cent 


(increase) 


19 


131 


eggs 


2 per cent 


(increase) 


21 


125 


eggs 


1 per cent 


(increase) 


23 


125 


eggs 


per cent 


(increase) 


26 


124 


eggs 


per cent 


(decrease) 


5 


108 


eggs 


(i per cent 


(including decrease) 19 


112 


eggs 


Total flock 


Table 


31 
II 


120 


eggs 



Showing the mean annual production for tlie first laying year 
of groups of hens selected lor varying percentages of increase or 
decrease in mean egg-weight of ten eggs or less laid at the period 
of the autumnal weight maximum. (See explanatory footnote tn 
Table I.) 

between the increase shown in April eggs of the second 
year and the total second-year production, and a very 
marked correlation between the weight increase in Sep- 
tember (second year) eggs and the total second-year pro- 
duction. The correlation in both years is best shown in 
September, and it appears to be shown better on the record- 
ed weight of only ten September eggs as compared with 
a full month's production. 

From the data presented in these tables it appears 
that higher production is correlated very definitely with 
higher percentages of increase in egg-weight. The max- 
imum group-production (147) occurred in those hens 
whose mean increase in eg^ -weight was above 13 per 
cent in the "10-egg test." Selecting above 10 per cent 



gave seven birds whose mean production was 143 eggs. 
Selecting above 6 per cent gave 12 hens whose mean pro- 
duction was 139 eggs. On the other hand, selecting the 
hens which gave a decrease in egg-weight (see Table II) 
gave five hens with a mean production of only 108. 

The superiority of the "10-egg test" in establishing 
the correlation with numerical production in this instance 
clearly brings the testing of egg production of hens into 
the same class with testing milk production of dairy cows, 
in which case Gavin and also Wilson have pointed out 
that under suitable conditions the one-day test is of great- 
er value than the seven-day, the 30-day, or the year test. 

With these points openly in mind, and only with the 
purpose of stimulating further investigation and discus- 
sion, the author presents the following brief summary 
of his results with a single flock as expressing a biologi- 
cal fact which, if later proved to be of general application, 
may take its place as a fundamental law of production 
in the domestic fowl: 

The innate egg producing ability of a hen is manifest- 
ed, not only by the number of eggs laid within a year, or 
within some longer or shorter period of time, but also by 
the degree of increase or decrease in the mean weight of 
her eggs, when this increase or decrease (calculated as a 
percentage-increase or percentage-decrease) is measured 
at those periods of laying (the vernal and autum- 
nal maxima) characterized by the markedly increased 
laying of the flocks; and on this basis, groups of hens 
characterized by higher producing ability can be differ- 
entiated as accurately as, and more easily than by any 
other known means. 



between cycle and 



etc., may 




FIG. 



114— DIAGR.\M SHOWING HOW INCREASED WEIGHT OF EGGS ACCOMPANIES 
INCREASED PRODUCTION 



This chart shows in graphic manner the way in which egg weight increases during 
the spring and autumn periods of maximum production, and the relation existing between 
such increases and the productiveness of the flock. The figures on the left give the total 
monthly egg yield of the flock employed in the test. The upper black line is the produc-^ 
tion line; the lower indicates the monthly average egg weight; and the shaded "peaks" 
indicate the periods when comparisons between the two are made for the purpose of de- 
termining the probable productiveness of the flock. Reproduced from Journal of the Amer- 
ican .Association of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Husbandry. 



Summary 

There is a distinct correlation 
rhythm and productiveness. 

Season, feeding, management, broodiness 
interfere with normal cycle and rhythm. 

Practically all layers have seasons of nonproductive- 
ness, or rest periods. 

The number of eggs laid by a hen in a year is in def- 
inite proportion to the length of her summer rest period. 
By culling early in summer, the hens with a long 
rest period are eliminated. 

By keeping those hens which lay late and which do 
not rest until the first of September or after, the best 
layers are automatically selected. 

There is a distinct correlation be- 
tween body weights and production. 

Among the larger breeds it is be- 
lieved that the best producers are 
found within the weights of 5 and IVz 
pounds. 

Careful observers have found that 
Leghorns averaging from 3 '2 to 4 
pounds are the best producers. 

Broodiness often causes a serious 
loss in production. 

The loss due to this cause is much 
less where the fowls are properly 
cared for, and broodiness promptly 
broken up. 

The tendency to broodiness does 
not necessarily prevent high egg pro- 
duction. 

A thorough test of the Hogan Sys- 
tem of selecting layers, made at the 
Wash. Exp. Station, proved about 64 
per cent accurate. 

The Patterson Index Method of se- 
lecting layers proved 87 per cent ac- 
curate. 

Hens whose eggs show an increase 
in weight over 6 per cent at the pe- 
riod of maximum production in spring 
and fall are more productive than 
those, the weight of whose eggs show 
a decrease or a gain of less than 6 
per cent. 



CHAPTER X 



How to Select Prospective Good Layers 

There Are a Number of Characters That Indicate Prospective Good Layers — The Poultry Keeper Who Learns How to 

Select His Best Pullets at the Beginning of the Laying Year Has a Great Advantage Over Others — 

Method Employed in Selecting Pullets at the New Jersey Experiment Station 




HAT has been said in previous chapters in 
regard to culling has applied particularly to 
the identification of good layers after they 
have been productive for some time — after 
they have gone through the first laying season 
or the greater portion of it and, unfortunately, after they 
have in many cases boarded at the expense of the owner 
for many months of idleness or relatively poor production. 
It is unfortunate that, to date, comparatively little is 
known in regard to selection for prospective good layers. 
There are, however, various characters, such as comb, 
shape and position of eye, abdominal capacity, general 
evidences of low or high constitutional vigor, etc., to go 
by, and close observation of these will enable the operator 
to form a fair estimate of the probable record that either 
pullets or hens will make in succeeding months. 

Especial attention has been given to the subject of 
selecting prospective good layers at the Michigan Agri- 
cultural College. In a recent bulletin from that institution 
(No. 21, Extension Series) the following statements on 
this subject are made: 

"Egg type in poultry is more reliably indicated by the 
head than by any other single part of the body. The head 
reveals health, constitutional vigor, age, refinement, 
coarseness, and masculinity. Lady Activity (record 263 
eggs in 365 days) was selected as the record hen in the 
college flock in 1916 just as she began to lay, selection 
being based chiefly on refinement of head. Care and 
judgment must be exercised however, or refinement of 
head will lead to the selection of individuals that are not 
sufficiently robust to stand up under the continuous strain 
of heavy egg production. Small heads and extreme fine- 
ness of features generally indicate a propensity for 
broodiness. 

"Early maturity also is correlated with heavy egg pro- 
duction. The pullet that feathers earliest over the back 
has, in nearly every case, made the highest yearly rec- 
ords. Early feathering over the back is an indication of 
both early maturity and constitutional vigor. Chicks al- 
ways feather in the following definite order: wings, tail, 
neck, breast, fluff, and back. Chicks of the heavy breeds 
should be feathered over the back at seven weeks of age. 
Leghorns or lighter breeds, a week earlier. Preference 
should also be given to close, tight feathers, along with 
early feathering." 

It is of the first importance that methods of selecting 
pullets be developed to the greatest possible accuracy, 
and many competent investigators are at work upon the 
subject. The need for practical tests of this sort was 
forcibly brought out during the course of a visit which 
one of the authors of this book, in company with Professor 
H. R. Lewis, paid to the Vineland District where com- 
mercial egg production has become a highly important 
local industry. 

The owner and manager of a 2,.500-hen commercial egg 
plant said, in discussing the general subject of culling: "I 



can tell readily enough which hens are laying well, also 
those that have laid well and stopped; but what we prac- 
tical poultrymen want to know is how to tell which pul- 
lets are going to make the good layers, doing this before 
we waste houseroom, feed, and time on them during the 
fall and winter. For example, one of the Wliite Leghorn 
pullets that I entered in the Vineland Contest has not laid 
an egg — not one. Can't you tell us how to come nearer 
selecting the good layers before the time for them to 
begin laying?" 

The reader will be interested in learning that this non- 
laying pullet was given a post-mortem examination which 
developed the fact that she apparently had been laying 
internally through some malformation of the oviduct. It 
is not probable that it will ever be possible to elaborate 
methods of selection to a point where such fowls can be 
detected before production begins but, without doubt, much 
greater accuracy in the selection of prospective layers 
can be attained than has yet been generally done. 

The following helpful suggestions in regard to the 
selection of pullets contributed by Prof. H. R. Lewis of 
the New JerSey Experiment Station, are of great practi- 
cal value. The information here presented was obtained 
in a personal interview which is here reproduced in con- 
nected form, simply omitting the questions to which Pro- 
fessor Lewis' statements are direct replies. 

Prospective Good Layers 

Suggestions for the .Selection of Pullets on Basis of Proba- 
ble Productiveness Observations Made at Vineland 
Laying and Breeding Contest— How Regular 
Culling Methods May Be .\pplied to 
Pullets Just Coming Into Laying 
By PROF. H. R. LEWIS. 

IT is evident, judging by tests easily made by any 
practical poultryman, that exterior characteristics and 
appearances can be relied on to a large extent in tell- 
ing which hens are laying, or have laid to a liberal extent; 
now how about picking out the good prospects in handling 
pullets that have not yet begun to lay? 

Our knowledge regarding the culling of fowls has ad- 
vanced wonderfully during the last two years. The poul- 
try fraternity has available very accurate information 
pei-taining to the selection of hens on a basis of their 
past and present performances. The application of these 
tests enables the poultrj' keeper to weed out cull birds 
and select the better, more productive hens for breeding. 
Our exact knowledge pertaining to the selection of pullets 
on the basis of their future production is much less com- 
plete and the results less accurate. We have been study- 
ing this problem pretty carefully in connection with work 
at the Vineland Egg Laying Contest and I have personally 
handled and observed hundreds of pullets and made esti- 
mates as to their probable future production. We expect 
to publi.sh something on this shortly. Until this work is 



HOW TO SELECT PROSPECTIVE GOOD LAYERS 



83 



published, our most complete information to date and the 
methods and factors which we most commonly use in 
picking pullets are as follows: 

Early Maturity 

Other things being equal, the early maturing pullets 
are by far the best producers. I have observed hundreds 
of pedigree pullets in the summer and fall, and the rule 
is, almost without exception, that those pullets which ma- 
ture normally, with well-developed bodies, in from 4V2 to 
6 months, depending on the breed, are by far the best pro- 
ducers; while those which linger in their maturing and 
require from 4 to 8 weeks longer than they normally 
should, are always the poor producers. We find this test 
true in full sisters. Early maturity means continued and 
sustained production. With the average American breeds 
(Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Reds) we expect them 
to mature in from six to seven months; that is, birds 
hatched in March will mature in October. For this rea- 
son, New Jersey poultrymen like to bring their Rocks, 
Reds, and Wyandottes out in middle or late March. It 
requires, on the average, five months to mature well- 
grown April-hatched Leghorn pullets, hence April-hatched 
pullets should mature in October. The time of hatching 
is, of course, governed largely by the danger of the fall 
molt. April-hatched Leghorn pullets will rarely molt until 
they are a year and a half old. That is, they will go 
through the fall and winter of their first laying year 
without molting, whereas, pullets hatched in March or 
earlier will usually molt in November and December. 
There is, however, an advantage in bringing off a certain 
number of the pullets in February, especially with Leg- 
horns. This advantage is an important one to the commer- 
cial egg producer, notwithstanding the fact that these Feb- 
ruary pullets will molt in the winter. (See Chapter XVII 
for more on this subject. — Ed.) 

Natural Figure 

The second point which we use in selecting the pullets 
for future production is the natural figure of the bird. 
They must have every evidence of vitality and stamina 
as expressed by well-developed, good-sized bodies, vig- 
orous head development, round, prominent eyes set well 
back in large, open eyelids. They must have ample body 
capacity; that is, their bodies must be relatively long, 
broad, and deep for the breed or variety. By body capacity 
is meant breadth, depth, and length of the bird, which 
means capacity for the greatly enlarged egg organs and 
intestines which are characteristic of heavy-producing 
hens. In other words, we do not want to select pullets 
which have small, .short, narrow bodies, and are tucked 
up or pinched behind. 

Cycle And Rhythm 

A third factor which we always consider can be de- 
tected after the birds have been laying two or three 
weeks is the cycle and rhythm with which they begin to 
produce. Pullets placed in the laying pens and trap 
nested from the time they lay their first egg, will show 
individual traits of production. Some will lay two eggs 
and skip a day, others will lay every other day. some will 
lay three eggs and skip a day, others will lay long periods 
without a skip, and then take long rests. The way in 
which the birds lay their eggs is termed their rhythm and 
cycle. The birds with a long cycle of steady prorluction 
with short skips, which cycles are regularly repeated, 
prove by far the best producers. 



lype 

I am fully convinced that there is such a thing as egg 
type in all of our strains of poultry, and nowhere is its 
practical importance greater than in judging the probable 
production of maturing pullets. In discussing type, the 
mistake must not be made of disregarding the breed .shape 
or type, for it can readily be seen that there cannot be one 
<^gg type for all breeds, owing to the differences in body 
shape. The egg breeds, however, bear a close similarity 
to each other in their breed type, and it may thus be as- 
sumed that this general conformation represents the de- 
sired form. 

Tail Carriage 

As regards tail carriage, the average Leghorn pullet 
coming into maturity has a moderately low, well-formed 
tail, generally fairly well spread. As she continues to 
lay, the tail becomes changed and is carried at a much 
higher angle. This, I believe, is due in large part to the 
development of the egg organs, and the pressure which 
they exercise on the muscles of the back and tail causes 

New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station 

DEPARTMENT OF POULTRY HUSBANDRY 



EGG PRODUCTION v,. CERTAIN EXTERNAL CHARACTERS 

CORRELATION FACTORS BY COMPARJSON 



Pen 

Dal. 






B..iK)Ko UU% Sex Q 



Head 
Ear Lobt 
Eyi 

Cotnh 

Beak 

Neck 

Back 

Breail 

Girth 
Tail 

Lay Bones 

Legs 

f'oe Nails * 
\fis:eIlaneou 



Lenpth 
Depth 
Width 



I Color 
] LtiStre 
I Bulge 

(Size 
i Texture 
[Lustre 

J Len'gth 
i Color 

{ Length 

Length 
Width 
Depth 

f L. Keel 
( Span 
I Bone 



long 
deep 
wide 



short 

•shallow 

narrow 




short 
short 
si- crooked deC- crooked 




J in inches \3 y^ v-'<JUao 



J Carriage high 

( Shape ■ spread 

Thickness thick 
Width wide 

Pliability 



{ Color 

( Length 
I Color 

i Length 



pinched 

thin 

narrow 

soft 



short 
white 



very thin 






votr 



l-IC, ll^CH.'VR.^CTERS OK AN INFERIOR L.XI'ER CH.XR I El) 
.\T BEGINNING OF L.WINC PERIOD 



84 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



the muscles controlling the tail to be drawn upward, car- 
rying the tail higher. Likewise, in the male bird as the 
breeding season approaches, we find the tail assuming a 
higher carriage. I am strongly opposed to squirrel tails, 
and do not believe they are necessary to maximum egg 
production. On the other hand, I am equally opposed to 
low, drooping tails which in the majority of cases are due 
to a lack of stamina and inherent vigor and vitality. I 
do not believe that tail carriage within normal limits, 
avoiding either extreme, has any influence upon egg pro- 
duction, or can be used as a measure of it. 

I do not regard pigmentation tests as of much value 
in selecting for prospective laying ability. It is true that 
pigmentation signs of production appear immediately 
after pullets start to produce, but it is a question in my 
mind as to whether we should practice culling to eliminate 
slackers at that time. Pullets that have been grown to ma- 
turity and which have been kept until December or there- 
about will then only have to be held at the longest a month 
or two before practically all will come into the natural 
.<pring laying season and will continue to lay more or less 
heavily for two to four months. I believe these late start- 
ers and poor winter layers should be held through the 

New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station 

DEPARTMENT OF POULTRY HUSBA\DPr 



EGG PRODUCTION v.. CERTAIN EXTERNAL CHARACTERS 

CORRELATION FACTORS BY COMPARISON 






Ualc 



.Head 
Ear Lobe 
Ey 

Comb 

fieak 
Xrti 

BrcasI 

Cirtlt 

Tail 



i'ent 
Legs 




short 
mm^mm^ short 
si crooked dec crooVcd 



vcr>' thir 



short 
while 



Ohesr-.'er. 

riG. 116— CHAR.^CTERS OF AN EXTRA-GOOD PULLET 
CHARTED .\T BEGINNING OF L.WING PERIOD 



winter and into this heavy laying spring period. These 
birds will be the earliest ones to quit in June and July 
however, and they can and should be culled out at that 
time. 

Charts for Prospective Layers 
In order to have a permanent record of observations 
on the characters of pullets, the chart shown in Figs. 115 
and 116 is used at the N. J. Exp. Station. This chart was 
designed for use in studying fowls at this station and is 
not regarded as having any special value to commercial 
poultry keepers. However, those who are applying cull- 
ing tests to prospective layers will find such "scores" 
quite helpful in checking up on predictions. 

The two pullets whose score cards are reproduced were 
both S. C. W. Leghorns, entered at the Vineland Contest 
during the fall of 1916. This study was made on Januarv 
8, 1917. All of the thousand birds at the Vineland Contest 
were gone over three times during their pullet year and 
studied on the basis of the characters listed on the card. 
One hundred birds, or ten pens, were gone over in the 
same way in two-week periods. 

These cards are laid out with the character to be 
studied at the left and standard descriptions of each char- 
acter listed at the right. When handling a bird, all that 
is necessary in order to designate her condition with refer- 
ence to any character is to draw a line through that term 
describing the condition which she shows. If the size of 
the comb, for instance, is between medium and small, we 
would extend the line through medium over toward small. 
If the comb is dry to dull we extend the line through dry 
over toward dull. In this way the chart enables us to 
describe in great detail and very quickly many characters 
in a large number of birds. From these records we can 
plot our correlations and make our observations. 

At the time these two particular observations were 
made, on January 8th, I predicted the production of bird 
No. 448 would be about 100 eggs. She actually laid 105 
eggs during the year. At the same time I predicted the 
performance of bird No. 424 to be over 200. She actually 
laid 263 eggs. It was not my intention, in these predic- 
tions, to attempt to get an exact prediction but rather to 
throw the birds into certain groups of poor producers, 
medium producers, good producers, and very good produc- 
ers. It was with considerable interest that we followed 
these results and found that, in the main, our predictions 
were remarkably accurate. 

Summary 

The selection of pullets with reference to their prob- 
able future production is of vital importance but is poor- 
ly understood. Present information on the subject may 
be summed up as follows: 

Grow the pullets well, weeding out during the .sum- 
mer growing period any which do not develop properly 
or which show evidence of slow growth or lack of vitality. 

Pick the pullets to put into the laying pens in the 
fall on a basis of good size, pronounced vigor, and ample 
body capacity. 

Bear in mind that it is the early-maturing pullets 
which lay the most eggs, for they not only have more 
stamina and productive ability, but they get an earlier 
start. 

If possible, pullets should be trap nested for a few 
weeks, in order that their cycle and rythm of production 
may be determined. 

Pigmentation tests are not of much practical value 
in determining future production. 

Tail carriage within normal limits does not appear to 
have any direct significance as to productiveness. 



C II A V T K 1{ X I 

Importance of Selective Flock Breeding 

To Realize the Full Benefits of Culling, Only the Best Layers Should Be Used in the Breeding Pen By Following 

This Practice Average Production Can Be Greatly Increased, and at Practically No Added 

Cost How to Select the Highest Producers In the Flock and the Ones 

That Are Best Able to Transmit Their Characters 




N preceding chapters the subject of culling has 
been discussed chiefly with reference to the 
direct effect of this practice upon average egg 
yield, and the economic importance of applying 
culling methods to all laying flocks, regardless 
of their size or the conditions under which they are kept. 
It has there been shown that culling is a highly valuable 
aid in increasing average production; that it enables the 
poultry keeper to detect with a good degree of certainty 
the nonlayers and the poor layers as well, thus cutting 
down his feed bill by getting rid of all hens that do not 
lay a profitable number of eggs, and doing so without 
noticeably reducing the total number of eggs produced 
by his flock. 

Without minimizing the importance of these advan- 
tages, it should be clearly understood that the greatest 
advantage in culling is not in the immediate benefits re- 
ceived from eliminating low producers, but in the opportu- 
nity which it affords for bringing about permanent im- 
provement in the flock through the use of only the best 
layers in the breeding pen. Getting rid of inferior pro- 
ducers as they stop laying in the summer means much to 
the practical poultry keeper, but it means still more, so to 
conduct breeding operations that eventually such fowls 
can be completely eliminated from the flock, at the same 
time gradually getting better records from the best indi- 
vidual members of it, year by year. As a means of 
effecting such improvement, breeding only from fowls 
that have demonstrated their ability to produce great 
numbers of eggs, or from fowls descended from such, 
is of unquestioned value. Evidence has been piled up to 
show that the productive capacity of fowls can be greatly 
improved through proper breeding, and this book could be 
filled with authentic records showing how, in practically 
all popular breeds, strains have been developed in which 
the average of production has been so increased. 

How Fecundity Is Transmitted 

It is admitted that our knowledge of the laws govern- 
ing the inheritance of fecundity is not complete. There 
are yet important differences of opinion among well-post- 
ed authorities, which have not been harmonized, and there 
are observed facts in the experience of practical poultry 
keepers that are not readily accounted for. But after 
conceding all this, the fact remains that fecundity is 
transmissible, that great numbers of breeders have 
brought about marked improvement in the production of 
their flocks by systematic breeding, and that such im- 
provement can be secured in any flock, regardless of 
breed, by following similar methods. 

According to Dr. Raymond Pearl, who for years was 
in charge of the poultry breeding work at the Maine Ex- 
periment Station, inheritance of fecundity is chiefly or 
solely through the male line. Not all practical poultry 
keepers nor all investigators in poultry breeding prob- 



lems accept Dr. Pearl's conclusions in regard to inheri- 
tance of fecundity. While it is generally conceded that 
the male does have a most important influence on inher- 
itance of this character, there is not lacking evidence 
pointing to the fact that the mating of heavy-laying hens 
with such males is an important factor in securing desired 
improvement in production. The general practice among 
poultry keepers is, while breeding from males descended 
from high producers, to use along with them the best 
producing females obtainable. 

The ability of high-i)roducing females to transmit this 
character to their offspring undoubtedly varies in indi- 
viduals. To date no one has discovered a certain method 
of determining degree of ability to transmit fecundity, 
though it is believed that high constitutional vigor is an 
important and possibly the most important factor in- 
volved. 

Pedigree Breeding and Use of Trap Nests 

No one will dispute the statement that the most exact 
and most satisfactory method of breeding for improved 
quality, whether it be high egg production or any other. 
is pedigree hatching. The breeder who makes individual 
matings rather than flock matings, and who adopts a sys- 
tem that enables him to keep an accurate record of results 
secured from individuals, is in a position to make more 
rapid progress than can be achieved in any other way. 
This method of breeding, however, involving as it does 




KIC. 117— .V PREPOTKXT H.XKIJKI) I'l.V.MOlTlI UOCK MALI- 

This bird mated to gr.ide females and others of standard rjual- 
ity, produced ten granddaughters, laying 1956 eggs (an average 
of 196.6 each) in the Vineland Contest. 191(, I9I7. Out- of the ten 
laid 272 eggs and another 278. 



86 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



the use of trap nests during a whole or a large part of 
the year, is a relatively expensive practice. To the pro- 
fessional breeder this expense may not be a serious factor, 
but it makes the method quite impractical for the aver- 
age person. For this reason trap nesting is not, and 
probably never will become, generally popular. What the 
everyday poultry keeper wants, and fortunately now can 
have, is a simple method by which he may breed his best 
producers, selecting these without the use of trap nests 
or elaborate records. 

Selective Flock Breeding 

Selective flock breeding means simply the annual selec- 
tion of the best layers by the application of well-known 
and reasonably accurate methods of identifying them by 
external characters, and the exclusive use of such females 
in the breeding pen, mating them with males of known 
heavy-laying ancestry if possible. This simple and inex- 
pensive plan may be adopted by anyone and, as has been 
abundantly shown in practice, it results in prompt and 
marked improvement in production. As an instance of the 
way in which improvement may be 
secured by this method of breeding, 
the following statement in regard to 
the development of the farm flock of 
G. W. Buck, of New Jersey, may be 
mentioned. Mr. Buck is a farmer 
owning and operating 140 acres of 
highly fertile soil, chiefly devoted to 
the production of potatoes, corn, al- 
falfa, and timothy hay. His poultry 
flock is more or less of a side issue, 
though he frankly states that in re- 
cent years it has been "the best pay- 
ing crop on the farm". 

At the solicitation of the New Jer- 
sey Station poultry authorities Mr. 
Buck entered a pen of ten pullets in 
the Vineland Egg Laying Contest, 
which pen made a remarkable record. 
In the following interview ( reproduce;! 
from Reliable Poultry Journal, June, 
1919) with V. G. Aubry, Extension 
Poultry Specialist, who has been in 
close touch with Mr. Buck in regard 
to his poultry work for a number of 
years, the following facts were 

brought out in regard to Mr. Buck's flock and the results 
secured from his contest pen: 

"In the spring of 1914 I was working in Monmouth 
County as Extension Poultryman, sent there on that er- 
rand by Professor Lewis. I did not then know that Mr. 
Buck had Barred Plymouth Rocks, but was with the county 
agricultural agent who wanted to see Mr. Buck about the 
potato crop. As we drove into the place he told me I 
would see here a good flock of farm-range Barred Rocks 
— and I did. Their color did not impress me especially, 
but I at once noted their size, health, and apparent vigor. 
That day Mr. Buck told me how well they laid, just as 
a farm flock, and said he would like to know where to 
buy one hundred hatching eggs; that he wanted some new 
blood and would like to have something 'a little better', 
as he expressed it. At the College Farm we had some 
good-quality Barred Rocks, carrying standard blood of 
the Dan Lambert strain, also of the M. S. Arey strain, 
Benton Harbor, Mass. Judge Lambert had bred for high 




FIG. 



This cock produced 10 daughters that 
in tlleir pidlet year (Nov. 1, 1918. to 
.\UR. 1.^. 1919} averaged to lay 159 eggs 
each. Compare this record with that of 
the male shown^in Fig. 119. Good breed 



ing pays. Photo fri 



egg production as well as for standard type and color, and 
Mr. Arey also helped out in type and color. The combi- 
nation gave us well-bred, average-quality, standard stock. 
These birds had been line bred for egg production on the 
College Farm for two or three years, where they were 
trap nested and selected also for type and color. Mr. 
Buck bought one hundred eggs from this flock, paying 
ten dollars for them, and since then he has used no other 
outside blood. The ten dollars therefore, represented his 
entire new investment. 

"In the spring of 1915, on one of my visits to Mr. 
Buck's farm, a male bird was selected from this hatch 
for a special mating, and this cockerel, as a yearling, was 
used as a breeding male in the spring of 1916, and sons 
of his were used that same spring on the old flock — mean- 
ing the original Buck grade stock — and with other pullets 
raised from the hundred eggs. The ten birds entered by 
Mr. Buck in the Vineland Contest, fall of 1916, were 
daughters and granddaughters (through his sons) of the 
original male shown in Fig. 117. These ten birds at Vine- 
land laid 1,956 eggs in twelve months, an average of 195.6 
eggs each, one of them laying 272 
eggs and another 278 eggS' — which 
were remarkable performances indeed. 
"This Vineland Contest is not a 
one-year egg laying contest, but is 
a three-year laying and breeding con- 
test, as set forth in the rules and 
regulations. In the spring of 1918, 
therefore, a cockerel was sent by 
Mr. Buck to Vineland, to mate to the 
pen that had laid the 1,956 eggs in 
t'.velve consecutive months. This 
cockerel was the grandson or a great- 
grandson of the old original 1915 
male. The daughters of this cocker- 
el and original pen are at present be- 
ing trap nested at the contest and 
now are second high pen (week end- 
ing April 17, 1919) in the entire con- 
test, with a production to date of 
1,000 eggs, the first high pen being 
a pen of S. C. White Leghorns with 
an egg yield to date of 1,102 eggs. 
The mothers of these Buck Barred 
Rocks, up to the same date in their 
year of test (1916-17) had laid only 
997 eggs, a difference of 103 eggs in favor of the line-bred 
pullets to the end of the twenty-fourth week, equivalent 
to April 17th of this year. 

"Furthermore, three daughters of bird No. 19 in the 
pen entered in the first year of the contest, which hen 
laid 278 eggs, are laying more eggs to date than 
did the original bird. Her yield to April 1st of her test 
was 108 eggs, wliile these daughters have an average of 
119 eggs to the same date, one of the three daughters 
having laid 85 days in succession with but one skip and 
having a trap-nest record to April 1st of 139 eggs, or 31 
eggs more than her mother laid in the same length of 
time when she helped produce 1,956 eggs in 365 consecu- 
tive days as one of a flock of ten pullet-hens. 

"Each year, beginning with the fall of 1915, a member 
of the department here has helped Mr. Buck in the selec- 
tion of birds to be kept for laying and breeding purposes. 
These birds from the first were selected according to 
pigmentation tests and each summer the flock has been 



IIS-PREPOTENT M.\LE OF A 
HE.WY-LAYING STRAIN 



Cornell University. 



IMPORTANCE OF SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



87 



rigidly culled. In mating the birds, standard values in 
the form of type and color were also considered as im- 
portant, and only the best birds on the basis of egg pro- 
duction and standard type and color were kept for breed- 
ers. The original male bird undoubtedly had remarkable 
egg prepotency; also he put the color on them and helped 
the type. After that it was a matter of selection, in 
wliich type, color, and barring were favored." 

How to Proceed in Selective Flock Breeding 

Anyone who wishes to breed for increased egg pro- 
duction has only to master the selective methods describ- 
ed in the previous chapters of this book, and apply them 
to his flock, to be able the following season to place in 
his breeding pens only the best layers of the year before, 
thus restricting his hatching entirely to eggs from his 
best producers. In this system of flock mating the breed- 
er necessarily cannot know definitely the ancestry of his 
male birds, so that while the females may all, or practi- 
cally all, be high producers, there is the possibility that 
an inferior male bird may be selected to mate with them, 
thus to some extent nullifying his ef- 
forts. Where only the best layers are 
used for breeding, however, and male 
birds se'.ectej from the results of th?^ ■ 
matings, they must all be from high 
producers, regardless of whether their 
pedigrees are known or not. In any 
event this method of breeding is so 
greatly superior to the method com- 
monly followed, that improvement is 
assured from the start and may be 
expected to increase in intensity as 
the practice is continued through suc- 
ceeding years. 

To the breeder who proposes to 
adopt this practice a word of warning 
should perhaps be given against a mis- 
take too frequently made. The indi- 
vidual poultry keeper who has 
familiarized himself with the remark- 
able results secured through culling 
is apt to lay too much stress upon 
selection of adult fowls, depending almost entirely upon 
late summer or early fall culling, which is the period 
of the year when the method can most readily be applied, 
and when most publicity is given to the practice. For 
the breeder to do so is to result in his overlooking other 
opportunities for selection which, to those earnestly striv- 
ing to improve their flocks, are much too important to he 
omitted. Regardless of what may be accomplished by 
the application of 'various culling methods at the end of 
the first laying year, the poultry breeder should remem- 
ber that to get best results he .should overlook no steps 
prior to the main summer culling that will enable him 
to effect improvement in the general average of his flock. 
This means in practice that culling should begin with the 
chick. 

There is no good reason why any poultry keeper 
should fall into the costly error of allowing individuals 
to remain in the flock that at any time in their exist- 
ence have developed apparent unfitness. Chicks that are 
weakly when hatched, or that at any stage of their 
growth and development show a lack of constitutional 
vigor, such as slow growth, delayed feathering, or the de- 




II., ,1— ., l.i.v.M.iRN COCK OF POOR- 
LAVING ANCESTKV 

This cock produced 17 daughters t!i.-it 
ill their pullet year (Nov. 1, 1918 to Aug. 
13, 1919) averaged to lay only 89 egg^ 
etch. Photo from Ct.trnell Universit.v. 



velopment of any sort of physical defect, should be 
disposed of the instant these are noted, thus saving the 
feed that otherwise would be wasted in securing their 
slow and unprofitable growth. 

In the case of growing fowls that show some inferior- 
ity, but which are to be kept for a time, most practical 
poultry keepers adopt a method of marking them by 
the use of leg bands or even by cutting off the end of a 
toe, thus insuring that, no matter what development they 
may make later on, they will by no chance get into the 
breeding pen where their constitutional weakness, which 
is not always apparent in adult birds, will be passed 
on to their offspring. 

A good time for culling is during the period when the 
pullets are coming into matui'ity at which stage the 
poultry keeper who knows the age of his pullets is able 
readily to identify the slow-growing, slow-maturing in- 
viduals which, as a rule, are unprofitable at all times and 
which he particularly wishes to keep out of the breeding 
pen, whatever use he may make of these elsewhere. 

Use Hens in the Breeding Flock 
While there are peculiar condi- 
tions under which it sometimes is 
necessary or desirable to employ pul- 
lets as breeders, the use of hens is 
always preferred, and these should be 
chiefly depended upon for that pur- 
pose. The poultry keeper, who while 
trying to breed for increased egg pro- 
duction resorts to pullet matings, has 
to contend with serious difficulties. 
If he selects his best producers, he 
will have to take those that have been 
laying all winter long and that, as a 
direct result of the general weaken- 
ing effect of months of heavy produc- 
tion, are not capable of transmitting 
high vigor to their chicks. If he uses 
younger pullets that are not open to 
this objection there will be no way of 
determining their relative value as 
producers, and as a result many of 
the birds selected will prove to be inferior layers and high- 
ly undesirable as breeders. 

Those who use hens one year old or over find that 
they come into laying just about at the beginning of the 
breeding season, and are at their best as regards health 
and vigor, provided they have been properly handled, 
and will transmit to their chicks the greatest measure of 
health and constitutional vigor that they are capable of 
giving, and they should continue to do this practically 
throughout the entire hatching period. The eggs laid by 
hens are always larger than those produced by them as 
pullets, and as the size of the newly hatched chicks is 
determined by the size of the eggs from which they are 
hatched, it is readily seen that the chicks hatched from 
eggs laid by hens have a distinct advantage. 

Prepotency 

All fowls possess some degree of ability to transmit 
racial and individual characters to their offspring. The 
measure of ability to do this, however, varies greatly in 
individuals, both male and female. Occasionally a bird 
is discovered which possesses extraordinary power to 



88 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



stamp its characters upon its offspring. This is pre- 
potency as the poultry breeder uses the term. Obviously, 
it is highly desirable to be able to detect such fowls, and 
many efforts have been made to find some means of do- 
ing so. One method that has received a good deal of 
publicity is based upon skull measurements, but its prac- 
tical value has never been satisfactorily demonstrated. 
To date there is no certain way of detecting prepotency 
except by actual test in the breeding pen. It is known 
that fowls of the purest blood are most likely to possess 
this power; hence line breeding is regarded as especially 
effective in intensifying characters and the ability to 
transmit them. 

To show the influence of a strongly prepotent male 
upon egg laying ability, the following incident is related: 
In the first year of the Vineland Laying and Breeding 
Contest, W. P. Laing entered a pen of Buff Wyandotte 
pullets. They made a comparatively poor showing, the 
average production for the pen being only 84.5 eggs. The 
second year Mr. Laing sent a cockerel to be mated with 
the pen and, from the chicks produced, a pen of ten pul- 
lets was selected for the third year contest. Nothing 



tion will do well to use high-record females, as well as 
males descended from such. 



TABLE SHOWING IMPROVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DUE TO 
USE OF PREPOTE.XT MALE 





1st year 




3rd year 




Hen 


record 


Pullet 


record 


Out of 


number 


12 months 


number 


:Sii weeks 


Hen No 


1 


98 


1 


169 


1 


2 


72 


2 


l.il 


2 


3 


149 


i 


67 


3 


4 


66 


4 


148 


1 


5 


109 


5 


114 


5 


6 


80 


6 


U} 


6 


7 


52 


7 


125 


7 


8 


171 


8 


111 


8 


9 





9 


142 


1 


10 


48 


10 


U4 


6 




EIG. 120— ,\ BRED TO-L.W FLOCK OF WHITE WY.\NDOTTES 

These laying-strain Wyandottes, bred by John S. Martin of Canada, are descended 
from "Dorcas" (the hen indicated by an X in the illustration) with a record of 241 eggs in 
12 months. This hen has proved to be a liighly valuable female, transmitting her super 
ior laying i|u.ilities to her daughters with great uniformitv. 



special was known in regard to the breeding of the cock- 
erel but he proved to be exceptional in ability to trans- 
mit heavy egg laying qualities, as shown by the fact that 
his pullets, up to the middle of July, had already aver- 
aged to( lay 1.30.4 eggs. The table here presented gives 
the individual first year record of the hens in the original 
pen. and of the pullets descended from them. The hens 
in this mating appear to have had little influence, as the 
best-laying pullets were descended from the poorest lay- 
ers, while the poor-laying pullets were from the birds 
that made the best records in the first year contest. 

Similar evidence in regard to the influence of males 
upon productiveness of offspring has been secured at 
Cornell University. The cock shown in Fig. 119 (Cornell 
No. D 1452) had 17 daughters, raised during the season 
of 1917-1918, whose average production during their pul- 
let year (Nov. 1st to Aug. 13th) was only 82 eggs. The 
cock shown in Fig. 118 (Cornell No. F 563) had 10 daugh- 
ters whose average from Nov. 1, 1918 to Aug. 13, 1919 
was 159 eggs. 

The foregoing may or may not be exceptional cases. 
There certainly is plenty of evidence to show that hens 
often do have an important influence upon the production 
of their pullets, and there are excellent reasons for be- 
lieving that those who seek to secure increased produc- 



The Breeding Flock and Its Management 

The poultry keeper who adopts the suggestions given 
in foregoing chapters in regard to selection will find that 
in the fall, after the regular end-of-the-season culling, 
the question of selecting fowls for his next season's breed- 
ing pens has been greatly simplified, since he will have 
left in his flock few inferior individuals. He will, how- 
ever, if a true breeder, want to mate 
his pens in conformity with the estab- 
lished principles of standard poultry 
breeding. The importance of keeping 
standard fowls and of breeding for 
such qualities along with high egg 
production are presented elsewhere in 
this book and need not be referred to 
here further than to repeat, by way 
of emphasis, that THERE IS NO 
PERMANENTLY SUCCESSFUL 
POULTRY INDUSTRY WHERE 
STANDARD QUALITIES ARE IG- 
NORED. 

The fowls that remain after the 
flock has been culled in the fall must 
again be culled with reference to 
standard qualities before final selec- 
As a rule, this final culling will take 
place near the beginning of the breeding season, when 
the fowls are in full feather and in their best physical 
condition, and when their general conformity to standard 
requirements can most readily be determined. It may 
involve something of a struggle to reject a hen that is 
an exceptionally good producer because of her unfitness 
as a breeder when judged from the Standard viewpoint, 
but certainly such fowls should not be admitted to the 
breeding pen. 

Fall and Winter Treatment of ffi-eeding Fowls 

It hardly need be said that fowls intended for breed- 
ers the following season should not be fed for egg produc- 
tion prior to that time. Unfortunately the knowledge 
that the birds should not and, as a rule, will not be pro- 
ductive in fall and early winter, no matter how they are 
fed, often results in their being grossly neglected. Just 
because they are not going to be productive for two or 
three months, however, is no reason why they should be 
mistreated and kept in uncomfortable or unsanitary quar- 
ters, or underfed. That is the poorest kind of economy. 
On the contrary, they should, if possible, be placed in 
permanent quarters before winter sets in and thereafter 
should be fed on a well-selected nutritious ration that will 



tion as breeders. 



IMPORTANCE OF SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



89 



kaep them in best physical condition but will have no ten- 
dency to force production. At this time the birds should 
have a comfortable house and ample yards or range to 
which they should be given access even in winter, ex- 
cept in extremely cold or stormy weather, and should be 
fed chiefly on scratch grains. 

Litter should be provided freely, and all grain should 
be buried in it. Nothing will do so much to keep hens in 
good physical condition and insure high fertility and 
high vitality in the embryos as an abundance of exercise 
not only during the breeding season but during the fall 
and winter months leading up to it. Dry mash should 
be supplied in hoppers, but its composition should be 
such that the fowls will not be tempted to consume it 
too freely. A good grain mixture for the prospective 
breeding pen is: two parts of cracked corn, one part of 
wheat, and one part of barley if available. For the mash: 
two parts by weight of bran and one part of middlings, 
to which should be added not over ten per cent of 
meat scrap. The proportion of corn in the scratch grains 
can safely be increased to one-half or two-thirds in se- 
verely cold weather, if cracked and fed in plenty of 
litter. No oats need be provided in the scratch grain if 
a daily feed of sprouted, boiled, or soaked oats is given. 
If this is not done then oats should be added to the grain 
mixture, in which case a better formula will be three parts 
of cracked corn, one to two parts of oats (depending upon 
quality), and one part of wheat. Do not make the mis- 
take of omitting meat scrap entirely from the mash 
mixture simply because the fowls are not expected to lay. 
A reasonable amount of meat is needed in the ration of 
fowls at all times, though the percentage in the case of 
nonlayers should not be as high as in the ration for lay- 
ing flocks. 

As the breeding season approaches the fowls should 
be carefully examined and final selection made, and if 
not already in their permanent quarters they should be 
placed there not later than January 1st, as a general 
average for the larger breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks, 
from which eggs for hatching probably will be required 
by about the 1st of February. If the modern method of 
balancing the flock by providing some extra-early pul- 
lets is adopted (see Chapter XVII), Leghorns also should 
be in permanent quarters by about the same date. 

The breeding pens should have comfortable, sanitary 
quarters not differing from those usually provided for 
the laying flocks, aside from the fact that it is desirable 
to give the former more floor space per hen. Wihere 
winters are extra severe, a somewhat warmer house may 
be required, in order to avoid any danger of frosted 
combs. Whether the breeding pen shall consist of a sin- 
gle male mated with a suitable number of females rang- 
ing from eight upwards, — this number to be determined 
by season, breeding, age of male birds, etc. — or a much 
larger flock with several males (flock mating), will be 
determined lai-gely by individual conditions. As a rule, 
better results are secured with small pens mated to a 
single individual, but flock matings are better suited to 
the dimensions of the average poultry-keeper's houses. 
This method also calls for less labor and, when properly 
managed, gives excellent results. 

The ration for the breeding pen .should be changed 
gradually as the hatching season approaches, placing the 
hens on substantially the same ration as that fed to the 
laying pen. However, if eggs are to be produced through 



a long hatching season, any tendency to force production 
must be avoided. High production early in the season 
means that the fowls will use up their vigor and their 
vitality, and the eggs produced by them later on will prove 
unsatisfactory as regards incubation. 

A good grain ration at this time is equal parts by 
weight of cracked corn, wheat, and oats. Provide sprouted 
or soaked oats as a regular daily feed. This grain is 
regarded as a most valuable one for all kinds of breeding 
stock, and should never be omitted from the ration of 
breeding fowls. If the oats are plump and heavy they 
can bo added to the scratch-grain mixture to good ad- 
vantage, but if light in weight their use in this way is 
ppt to result in serious waste, and the fowls will not get 
as much of this grain as they should have. Heavy feed- 
ing of light, dry oats often causes serious intestinal dis- 
orders due to the excess of crude fibre. Where oats are 
freely fed, it is always safer to give them sprouted, 
soaked, or boiled. 

The mash mixture during the breeding season may 
consist of equal parts by weight of bran, middlings, corn 
meal, and rolled oats, and twenty per cent of meat scrap. 
If the fowls will not eat this mash mixture freely in the 
dry state, it should be fed as a moist mash once a day. 
At this time the mash part of the ration should amount 
to approximately fifty per cent of the total day's feed 
consumption. Supply milk to drink whenever possible, 
and where this is available the proportion of meat scrap 
in the mash mixture may be proportionately reduced. 
(Jontinue to supply litter liberally and give special at- 
tention to the exercise of the fowls. Green feed, of course, 
must be provided. Many experienced bi-eeders prefer 
cabbage to any other form of green stuff for the breed- 
ing pen. Where this is not available, probably there is 
no better source of supply than sprouted oats. Provide 
grit and oyster shell as for the laying flock, and see to 
it that the fowls have fresh, pure water at all times. 
Since health and vigor are of primary importance in the 
breeding pens, it is advisable to supply as large yards as 
practicable and give the fowls access to them at all 
times, regardless of weather conditions. 

How to Jlate the Breeding Pens 

The number of females that can be mated with one 
male cannot be arbitrarily fixed, as much depends upon 
the season, age and individuality of the males, and the 
breed to which the fowls belong. In cold weather fowls 
do not mate as readily as in warmer weather, neither do 
they mate as readily in confinement as on open range. 
In a general way it may be said that with the larger 
breeds such as Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, etc., the 
number of females should be limited to not more than 
eight if a cock is used, or ten to twelve if mated with a 
cockerel. Later in the season, particularly if on free 
range or practically so, the number in each case may be 
increased 25 per cent or more. With Leghorns in con- 
finement the minimum number need not be below ten, 
and may be increased to twenty with vigorous young birds. 
With fowls on open range and in the height of the 
breeding season these numbers may be further increased. 

In Leghorn flock matings males usually are provided in 
proportion of from four to six for each one hundred fe- 
males. In the case of larger breeds the number of males 
.■-hould be increased to six or eight. Where this method 
is practiced, it is necessary to use care in handling the 



90 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



male birds so as to reduce to the minimum the injuries 
that are liable to result from fighting. If the birds are 
well acquainted with each other before they are put into 
the breeding pen, serious trouble is not apt to occur, 
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Ik. 1-1-IIU,11VITA1.1TY MALI-: 

Contrast the alert, vigornus, snappy appearance of this biril 
with the low-vitality specimen in Fig. 122. It is from such birds 
as the above that the poultry keeper can expect the high con 
stitutional vigor that is one of the most important characteris- 
tics of the heavy producer, particularly of those that have the 
vitality not only to produce large numbers of eggs but to trans- 
mit this ability to their offspring. Photo from New Jersev 
Experiment Station. 

a time. Especially pugnacious individuals should either 
be removed and used in single pens, or their beaks and 
.spurs should be trimmed in order to reduce the danger 
of injury from fighting. 

Constitutional Vigor and Its Relation to 
Production and Growth 

The Importance of Using Only Highly Vigorous Fowls in 

the Breeding Pen Can Hardly Be Overemphasized— 

Causes of Constitutional Weakness In Fowls, 

How Detected and Prevented 

By PROF. H. R. LEWIS* 

X^DITORIAL NOTE— Con.stitutional vigor in breeding 
A-^ fowls is one of the characters that rarely receives 
the attention it should. Low fertility, poor hatches, 
weakly chicks, slow growth, and even inferior production 
in adult flocks may, in a great many instances, be traced 
back directly to the inferior physical condition of the 
breeding stock. This subject is of especial importance to 
those who are breeding for increased egg production. No 
matter what a given fowl's ancestry may be as regards 
laying ability, she will not be capable of sustained heavy 
production without great constitutional vigor. There is 
reason to believe that the proportion of high-record hens 
would be much greater than it now is if it were not for 

"Hints to Poultrymen, Vol. 2. No. 4. New Jersey Experiment Station. 



the fact that so many having heavy-laying ability are not 
physically able to digest and assimilate the relatively 
large quantities of feed essential to such performance. 
The relation of vigor to productiveness is quite clearly 
explained in the following article: 

BY observing flocks of different ages it will be noted 
that, from the time they are hatched till death, fo<vls 
differ considerably in regard to their constitutional 
vigor. Chicks at hatching time show inherited differences, 
some being weak and stunted and slow growers, while oth- 
ers are exceptionally strong and vigorous, and character- 
ized by a rapid, uniform growth. Many others fall into 
groups midway between these two extremes. Carrying the 
study still further, we see these same differences in cock- 
erels and pullets during the growing period, and experi- 
ments .show conclusively that birds which are weak and 
show lack of vitality during early life will never produce a 
profitable dozen eggs or a profitable pound of meat. ' To 
continue the same study with mature birds, he who will 
take time to observe one or more flocks will see that 
marked differences e.xist between females in reference 
to vigor as exemplified by size and shape of body, general 
carriage, prominence and lustre of the eye, shape of head 
and beak, and angle of tail. It is quite possible for the 
student to go into almost any flock and weed out many 
culls or so called drones which, owing to their form and 
structure and lack of inherited vitality, are producing 
few if any eggs, and are living at the expense of the bet- 
ter hens. The elimination of these inferior individuals 
liy selection should be one of the first objects of the 
poultryman. 

Selection for vigor and vitality should be continually 
practiced therefore, not only in mature birds and in the 
breeding pen, but throughout the entire brooding and 
growing period. Fowls of any age or sex which show at 
any time a lack of constitutional vigor will prove unpro- 
fitable for any purpose, and should be eliminated. The 
motto and aim of the poultry farmer should be "fewer 
birds, but better birds." 

Some Signs of High and Low Vitality 

Signs of high vitality, or lack of it, are easily dis- 
tinguished. The following are a few: 

The actions and movements of fowls probably best 
indicate their physical condition. The physically weak 
are inactive and dull, and are more likely to sit than to 
stand. They do not range to any extent in search of 
forage, nor do they scratch in search of feed. They re- 
main longest on the perches, possibly spending the entire 
day there. 

. The loudness and frequency of the crow of the male, 
and the cackle of the female, are indications of physical 
strength and superiority. Weak fowls seldom crow or sing. 

There are certain signs which indicate lack of vigor 
in a fowl as, for instance, long neck, thin beak, narrow 
head, or a long, slender body, long legs and thighs, or a 
stilted appearance. The reverse is true of vigorous birds. 

In the young growing chick, common signs of low 
vitality are stunted growth, slow feathering, pronounced 
crow-like beak, drooping wings and head, and a low 
squatting walk. 

The strong bird, at any age, should have a bright, 
prominent eye, a well-developed, blocky body, bright 
plumage, and erect carriage, bright comb and wattks, 
and should be active and sprightly in movement. 



IMPORTANCE OF SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



91 



Some Possible Causes for Loss or Lack of Vigor 

Increased Productiveness. The modem hen is expected 
by good care and management to lay from 120 to 160 eggs 
a year, and, at the same time, these eggs, or some of them, 
must be hatched into chicks with as much strength and 
vigor as the parent. It is evident that any increase in the 
production of eggs must be accomplished by a proportion- 
ate increase in the physical strength of the bird, to enable 
her to assimilate the increased amount of food required 
for this increased production. 

In-and-in Breeding. Inbreeding is often resorted to 
in order that the high producing qualities may be better 
and more quickly fixed. But where due consideration is 
not at the same time given to vigor, loss of vitality is 
bound to follow. 

Pullets Instead of Hens for Breeding. Vigor will cer- 
tainly be lowered by producing progeny from immature 
parents. Pullets lay small eggs, which hatch small chicks, 
which in turn result in small adults at maturity. The 
greatest size and vigor in pullets and cockerels can doubt- 
less be obtained by using yearling or two-year-old hens in 
the breeding pen, mating them to large, vigorous, early- 
hatched cockerels. 

Fall and Winter Egg Production. Under normal con- 
ditions the fowl is allowed a part of the year in which to 
rest and store up energy for future seasons of heavy pro- 
duction, and it will be found that forced feeding and heavy 
production are antagonistic to the highest fertility and 
greatest degree of vigor in the offspring. It i.s well there- 
fore, at as early a date as possible, to pick out all the 
adults which are desirable for use as breeders, and give 
them time to rest during the winter and store up energy 
and physical strength during the natural resting season. 

Excessive Crowding of Breeding Stock. The modern 
intensive system of handling poultry i.s responsible for 
much of the pre.'ient low vitality in fowls. Where it is 
desirable to raise future producers, it should be the policy 
to handle the breeding fowls on extensive rather than on 
intensive producing plants. Both young stock and breed- 
ers have more vigor when raised on land used for other 
purposes, such as fruit growing, grass, and grain crops. 

Lack of Exercise for Breeding Stock. This Is another 
direct cause of low fertility and consequent low vitality. 
The breeders during the winter should be kept in an open, 
dry house, and practically all of their feed should be fed 
in deep litter where they will be compelled to work for it. 
Exercise keeps the blood in rapid circulation which main- 
tains health. 

Improper Methods of Hatching and Hearing. Rather 
early hatching induces better growth, as the chicks get 
well started before hot weather. Plenty of moisture in 
artificial incubation insures better hatches of larger chicks, 
which seem to possess higher vitality as exemplified by a 
lower mortality. Extreme variations in brooder temper- 
ature accompanied by sloppy sour feed are often responsi- 
ble for heavy mortality and loss of vitality in the chicks 
that manage to survive such treatment. 

Breeding Stock Low in Vi^or. If the desire is to in- 
crease or even maintain a high degree of vitality, selec- 
tion of breeders of superior vigor is of paramount im- 
portance. Vitality and stamina are directly affected by 
two conditions: inherited factors and environmental con- 
ditions. If we are to succeed permanently, we must prac- 
tice systematic and rigid selection, first in our breeding 
flocks, and second in our laying flocks, and in addition to 



these we must surround our birds with a congenial en- 
vironment which is most conducive to health. GOOD 
HEALTH IN THE FLOCK IS THE FOUNDATION OF 
SUCCESSFUL POULTRY FARMING. 



The truly great importance of culling and of selec- 
tive flock breeding as a practical means of improving 
poultry flocks generally, is fully appreciated by the Poul- 
try Department at Cornell University, which has adopted 
plans for giving practical assistance along these lines, 
that promise to be of the greatest importance in the de- 
velopment of the poultry industry in the state of New 
York. What these plans are, is fully set forth in the fol- 
lowing article which, it is hoped, will prove helpful in 
interesting the poultry departments of other state colleges 
in taking similar steps. 

Practical State-Wide Poultry Project 

An Excellent Summary of the Money-making Benefits of 

Down-to-date "Culling" — Also Rules Governing the 

New York State Method of Certifying Breeders 

By EDITOR OF R. P. J.* 

THE logical growth and consistent development of 
the various lines of activity of the Poultry Depart- 
ment of the New York State College of Agriculture, 
at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., read almost like a 
romance. The Cornell plan represents what R. P. J. 
considers to be one of the best poultry projects — if not 
the best — that to date has been worked out and "put 
across" in the interests of poultry culture as a science 
and for the welfare of the poultry industry in this great 
agricultural country of ours. All due credit to Prof. James 
E. Rice and his capable, hard-working, loyal assistants. 
Following is the story — and it is one of genuine impor- 
^Reprinted from Reliable Poultry Journal, October, 1919. 




FIG. 122— LOW-VITALITY MALE 
Photo from New Jersey Experiment Station. 



92 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



tance to many R. P. J. readers. Fact is, every state in the 
Union, meaning in particular the states in which agricul- 
ture (including live stock) is the foundation of general 
business and the bulwark of prosperity, SHOULD ADOPT 
this same method or a quite similar one without unneces- 
sary delay, the work to be done by the state agricultural 
colleges, respectively. 

First, we have this lately discovered and expertly 
elaborated method of practical culling, with the object of 
eliminating the nonproducers, poor producers, and early 
quitters, thus to protect the feed bin and the bank account 
of the owner of the fowls, few or many. 

But that is not enough — is only one step in the right 
direction. The ne.xt step, in logical order, is "certified 
breeders.'' Of what real permanent use would it be, if the 
field-extension men of the Poultry Department at Cornell 
were to continue to visit the farm flocks of New York 
State every late summer and fall to "cull out" the poor 
producers, "the earlv quitters, etc., IF NO REAL PROG- 
RESS WAS TO BE MADE by the owners of these flocks 
along the line of better breeding and better stock, both 
as regards standard qualities and high egg production? 

And after the plan of selecting out good breeders from 
every culled flock and styling them "certified breeders" 
had been followed to a practical stopping place, what 
then? Was this ALL that needed to be done— all that 
COULD be done — in the best interests of earnest poultry- 
men and poultrywomen in New York State w'ho look to 
their flocks for profitable returns ? 

No, there was another logical step to be taken — and 
now it is to be taken. Briefly it is this: the powers that 
be have made a special appropriation of funds for the 
Poultry Department of the New York State College of 
Agriculture, by the use of which a "Breed Proving Sta- 
tion'' is now being established. New buildings that will 
contain twenty to twenty-five breeding pens of moderate 
size are to be erected this fall as the nucleus — as the start- 
ing point of a proving station for breed or strain testing 
that before long is expected to be a big establishment, a 
large and vitally important part of the well-equipped and 
expertly managed Poultry Department at Cornell Univer- 
sity. 

After this Breed Proving Station has been put into 
operation, the course of procedure in the Empire State, 
as regards this line of work or "project" of the Poultry 
Department of the State Agricultural College will be sub- 
stantially as follows: first, expert culling of good-sized 
flocks throughout the state to be done by field-extension 
men of the Department, these men to instruct the owners 
of the flocks respectively how to do the work themselves; 
second, these same experts, at this time or later, will select 
from the best birds of each owner's flock, those that should 
be used for breeding purposes, these specimens to be "cer- 
tified", to be given leg-band numbers, to be kept track 
of, etc.; third, and later, after the owner of "certified" 
specimens has shown fully his or her active and intelli- 
gent interest in better poultry and more of it, two or more 
such flock owners in each county of the state will be 
invited to send a pen of these "certified breeders" to Cor- 
nell University, where they will be placed in the Breed 
Proving Station, kept under trap nest, and line bred, 
pedigreed, etc., for a considerable length of time, at state 
expense. 

The foregoing is the order of procedure, and we sub- 
mit to the interested reader that it is a remarkably fine 
project— AND FOR SOUND REASONS. Its chief virtue, 
perhaps, exists in the fact that all these flocks belong to 
the people who are to be relied on to take care of them, 
help improve them, and be responsible for feeding, hous- 
ing, management, etc. The flocks also will be widely 
separated and until a limited number from each flock is 
sent to the Breed Proving Station ALL responsibility, or 
practically so, is to rest with the owners of the birds. 

A second valuable element in the plan is that numer- 
ous earnest, intelligent, and progressive poultrymen and 
poultrywomen of New York State will be getting the full 
benefit, if they so desire, of all knowledge, experience, 
and down-to-date advice that the Poultry Department at 
Cornell University, with its ten capable' workers, headed 



by Prof. Rice, can give them, and this extraordinary help 
will be brought right to their farm or poultry plant. Such 
visits should be worth a great deal to every poultry keeper 
in that state who carries several dozen, several hundred, 
or several thousand head of fowl for productive purposes. 
.\lso it will help these field-extension men who are work- 
ing to improve not only the breeding stock and layers, 
but also the methods of management in caring for them 
to obtain really profitable results. 

Finally, this plan will allow a limited number of poul- 
try keepers — taking New York State as a whole — to adopt 
and follow up intelligent, down-to-the-minute breeding 
methods, so that they can get the benefits of line breeding, 
of pedigree work, etc. — and they will be getting this in- 
valuable help at public or state expense. It is help that 
perhaps they could not get otherwise. Line breeding, trap 
nesting, and pedigreeing represent expensive work. Only 
poultrymen regularly in the business can afford to do this 
and do it right, as a general rule. But the Poultry De- 
partment at Cornell can do such work and do it with 
thoroughness,' — doing it with public funds, and not a tax 
payer in New York State will ever know the difference. 
In that immensely rich commonwealth if a "mathemat- 
ical" tax payer were to try to figure out how much this 
work is to cost him, on the dollar basis, on a hundred 
dollar basis, or even on a thousand dollar basis, he would 
not be able to find the item — it would be that small! 

On the other hand, this work is destined to be of im- 
mense benefit to poultry culture, on practical lines, in- 
New York State. As time goes on every one of these 
strains of line-bred stock, based first on selective flock 
mating, second on the use of "certified breeders", third on 
the benefits of "proved strain.s", as tested and demon- 
strated at the Breed Proving Station at the State Col- 
lege of Agriculture, will be just that many sources 
or near-by "fountains" where the ninety and nine in- 
terested poultry keepers of New York State can obtain 
surplus breeding males, small pens of breeders, eggs for 
hatching, and day-old chicks, this stock and the products 
therefrom to be of decidedly superior value to the average 
run of present-day farm poultry, even in New York State. 

Summary 

The greatest practical value in culling is in the oppor- 
tunity it affords for selecting the best layers for the 
breeding pens. 

Fecundity is transmitted through, both male and fe- 
male lines. 

Trap nesting is too laborious and expensive for the 
average commercial producer. 

Selective flock breeding insures gradual improvement 
at slight expense and with little trouble. 

Fall culling alone is not sufficient in selection of 
breeders. 

Fowls intended for the breeding pen should be under 
observation from the time they are hatched. 

Hens are much better than pullets for the breeding 
pen. 

Breeding stock must not be neglected and mistreated 
when nonproductive. 

Exercise for breeders is highly important both in and 
out of the hatching season. 

The breeding pen should not be fed for heavy egg pro- 
duction at any time. 

Wide differences exist in fowls as regards constitu- 
tional vigor, and these are accentuated by the artificial 
conditions under which they are kept. 

The hen is the most efficient transformer of raw ma- 
terial into finished product on the farm; and exceptional 
constitutional vigor is required to keep her in good con- 
dition. 

Selection for vigor and vitality should be continually 
practiced from the brooder to maturity. 

Low constitutional vigor may be caused by heavy pro- 
duction, inbreeding, use of pullets instead of hens, too 
heavy feeding, lack of exercise, improper methods of 
hatching and brooding, etc. 

Good health in the flock is the foundation of success- 
ful poultry farming. 



C H A P T E R X 1 1 



Gulling Methods Particularly Adapted to the Farm Flock 

Poultry Keeping Is an Important and Profitable Branch of the Farm Live Stock Industry and Is Capable of Yielding 

Still Greater Returns When Properly Developed The Efficiency of the Farm Flock Is Increased 

By Systematic Culling How To Do This in the Most Convenient Manner 




HE farms of this country have always been by 
far the most important source of supply for 
table eggs and poultry, and the annual market 
value of their poultry products amounts to a 
truly enormous sum. In spite of this fact, how- 
ever, the possibilities of the farm flock as a source of 
income are not half appreciated. In too many cases the 
fowls are largely left to shift for themselves — in fact, are 
tolerated only because of their ability to do this. By util- 
izing otherwise waste food materials, cost of maintenance 
is reduced to so low a level that even though they fall far 
short of the commercial poultry keeper's standards of pro- 
duction a substantial profit is still assured. 

The ability of fowls partially to .support themselves 
should always, be fully utilized on the farm. But to get 
the best returns from them the resources of the range 
should be regularly and adequately supplemented. Fowls 
are entitled to rank with other classes of farm animals 
as a practical medium for turning the raw products of 
the field into human food. As a mattei' of fact, they 
do this with an efficiency unequalled in any other 
branch of live-stock production; and as this becomes 
better understood a great increase in this branch of farm 
production may safely be predicted. 

What Breeds to Keep on the Farm 

Where eggs oniy ar :• wanted, there is no question 
about the fact that small fowls will produce them at 
less cost than will large ones, while there are many 
economies in the way of labor, houseroom, and equip- 
ment, which are practical with such 
fowls as Leghorns, that are out of 
the question with the larger breeds. 
Notwithstanding this fact. Plymouth 
Rocks, Wyandottes, and R. I. Reds 
undoubtedly are most popular with 
farmers, and probably will remain so 
for many years to come. Under the 
conditions found on the average farm 
the cost of producing table poultry 
is comparatively low, and it is doubt- 
ful whether there would be any ad- 
vantage in giving up this important 
source of added revenue for such ad- 
vantages in low cost of egg produc- 
tion and economy in labor as arc 
realized where Leghorns are kept. 
It is fortunate therefore, that good 
egg production can be secured with 
fowls of large breeds as w-ell as with 
small ones, and that it does not mat- 
ter greatly which of the different 
breeds is kept, provided only that 
stock from a heavy-producing strain 
is secured. 



The illustrations of high producers of various breeds 
given in Chapters IV and V, are sufficient proof that no 
breed or variety has a monopoly of high egg records, 
and there is opportunity to satisfy a wide range of pre- 
ference as to size, shape, and color without in any man- 
ner sacrificing egg production. As a rule, farmers in the 
northei-n part of the country where the summers are short, 
particularly if they are going to depend upon natural 
methods of incubation and brooding, should select Wyan- 
dottes or R. I. Reds for the simple reason that fowls of 
these breeds should mature about one month earlier than 
Plymouth Rocks hatched on the same date. Thus the 
time required to bring pullets into maturity before cold 
weather is decidedly reduced. Where artificial methods 
of incubating and brooding are followed however, this 
consideration ceases to have much practical significance. 

Importance of Culling on the Farm 

Culling is a matter of special importance in farm 
flocks, as the fowls often are of mixed breeding and us- 
ually contain many more old hens than is the case in 
commercial flocks. For these reasons it is common ex- 
perience in culling demonstrations to find that, with one- 
third or one-half of the flock thrown out as culls, the 
fowls that are kept actually produce more eggs than the 
entire number did before. 

In all culling operations it is important to Ijear in 
mind that many fowls are thrown out as unprofitable 
producers because they have been neglected, underfed, or 
otherwise prevented from doing their best. One of the 




Scene on the fa 
(see Chapter XI). A 
age of 19.^.6 eggs eacll 
inient Station. 



FIG. 123— .\ GOOD NEW" JERSEY FARM FLOCK 

rm of G W. Buck. The breeding of this flock is described elsewhere 

pen of Mr. Bvick's Barred Plymouth Rock pullets made the high aver- 

at the First \ineland Laying Contest. Courtesy of New Jersey Exper- 



94 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



essential conditions of accurate culling, therefore, is to 
see that the fowls have had good care and feeding. When 
an owner reports as many eggs daily from his culled 
flock, as he previously secured from the entire number, 
that may not mean that the hens taken out were worth- 
less as layers, but rather that the housing or the feeding 
was inadequate for the original flock or that the culled 
birds received better care due to the awakened interest 
of the owner. 




FIG. 124— A SCENE IN THE MISSOURI CULLING CAMPAIGN 



In this illustration, H. 
Department of Agriculture, 
layer from a poor one. 



E. Cosby, Extension Poultry Husbandman of the United States 
is shown explaining before his hearers just how to tell a good 



It often is not realized to what extent the production 
of hens is affected by their treatment or by the rations 
supplied. Often the farmer who knows that neglect, 
mistreatment, or underfeeding will result immediately 
in a decrease in the amount of milk produced by his cows, 
fails to appreciate the fact that exactly the same re- 
sults accompany similar mi.shandling of his hens, though 
the consequences may not be as plainly seen. 

To illustrate the economical saving that culling ef- 
fects in farm flocks we reproduce here an article which 
appeared in the Reliable Poultry Journal, January, 1919, 
giving the results secured in a culling campaign in Mis- 
souri during the previous season. 

Remarkable Success of a Farm Flock 
Culling Campaign 

How Missouri's Slacker Hens Were Culled Out and Disposed 

of in a State-wide Culling Campaign^Eighteen 

Carloads of Culls Sent to Market 

From Only Four Counties 

By T. S. TOWNSLEY 

EIGHTEEN carloads of slacker hens have been sent 
to market from four counties and a trainload of 
feed saved as a result of a Poultry Culling Cam- 
paign in Missouri. And the sale of these hens has made 
no noticeable reduction in the nurriber of eggs produced. 
In the Poultry Booth at the University of Missouri 
Exhibit at the State Fair at Sedalia, August 10-16, 1918, 
were two White Leghorn and two Barred Rock hens 
which attracted a great deal of attention. One of the 
Leghorns and one of the Rocks were fine looking, clean- 
feathered, yellow-shanked birds, while the other speci- 
men of each breed wore dirty, ragged plumage, and had 
pale, faded shanks and beak. A sign over the coops con- 



taining these birds bore the legend, "Good Layers and 
Poor Layers." On a small card at the front of each coop 
was given the laying record of each hen. 

Two women who were fond of chickens stopped be- 
fore the exhibit and began discussing the birds. 

"That first Leghorn is a fine looking hen," remarked 
one lady. "She must be the good layer." 

"I wouldn't have that pale-shanked Rock in my 
flock," exclaimed the other. "She doesn't look very 
healthy." 

Then they looked at the egg re- 
cords and found that the fine look- 
ing Leghorn had laid only 52 eggs, 
and that the shabby one had 168 to 
her credit. They also found that the 
yellow-shanked Rock was a poor pro- 
ducer, while her faded companion 
had a businesslike record. 

Just at this point the man in 
charge of the exhibit politely in- 
quired if the ladies could pick out 
the high producers in their own 
flocks. He proceeded to explain that 
the color of the shanks in the fall, 
and the time the hen molted, were 
two good indications of the number 
of eggs laid. He pointed out as 
slackers the hens that had yellow 
shanks and had molted early. 

"Most of my hens are slackers then, said one of the 
women, "because I always keep the early molters." 

"And I always sell the pale-shanked ones," added the 
other lady. 

During the fair week thousands of farmers and their 
wives who visited the fair saw the four hens, and a large 
per cent of them were surprised to find which hens were 
the good layers and which were the poor. 

The County Campaigns 

The State Fair e.xhibit was the first move employed 
by the Poultry Division of the University of Missouri 
Agricultural Extension Service in the campaign against 
slacker hens. Following this a vigorous campaign was 
carried on through the Farm Bureaus in the various 
counties. Missouri Farm Bureaus are organized with 
the community as the unit through which most of the work 
is done. A community is determined by the natural 
groupings of the people rather than by geographical lines. 
A community usually centers around a village, a church, 
or store, or some other point of common interest. The 
number of communities in representative counties varies 
from about twelve to as many as twenty. A community 
usually embraces from four to eight school districts. 
In each community the Farm Bureau has a committeeman 
to represent each line of work carried on by the organiza- 
tion. 

To start the culling work in a county an Extension 
Poultry Specialist from the College of Agriculture at 
Columbia, with the assistance of the County Agent or 
Home Demonstration Agent, conducted a one-day culling 
school at some central point in the county. At this 
county school the poultry committeemen and poultry 
leaders from each community in the county were taught 
the methods of detecting the low-producing hens. 

After the county culling school the community com- 



CULLING METHODS PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO THE FARM FLOCK 



95 



mitteemen arranged a similar school in each community. 
A poultry leader from each school district in the commun- 
ity was asked to attend this local school. These schools 
were usually conducted by the County Agent or the Home 
Demonstration Agent, with the assistance of the commun- 
ity committeeman. At these schools the representative 
of each school district learned how to detect the slackers. 
After the community school the poultry leaders from each 
school district were asked to hold local demonstrations 
and teach the culling methods to their neighbors. In this 
way a culling campaign was quickly organized which 
brought the information on culling within the reach of 
every person in the county who cared to secure it. 

To most people this method of separating the good 
layer from the poor producer was entirely new and the 
campaign created a great deal of interest and enthusiasm. 
Many people were skeptical at first and these had to be 
"shown." The large number of tests, when the hens were 
kept separated and it was found that the hens chosen as 
culls laid no eggs, soon convinced the doubters that the 
method was good and culling enthusiasm ran high. Hun- 
dreds of farmers who had never before shown any interest 
in poultry caught the spirit and examined every hen on 
the farm to see whether she was worth keeping. 



How to Cull 

Farmers who have a sufficient number of fowls to 
make it worth their while to do so, can largely adopt the 
methods followed by commercial poultry keepers, and 
with equally good results, but on the average farm, where 
the poultry flock is comparatively small, it is not to be 
expected that the more or less continuous and extra- 
thorough culling practiced by the commercial poultry 
keeper will be carried out in full. The common tendency 
to depend exclusively upon a single summer or fall cull- 
ing, however, is unfortunate. It is impossible to realize 
the full advantage of present knowledge on this subject 
where this practice is followed. As has already been 
stated, culling tests can be successfully applied to ex- 
tremely poor layers at almost any season and it is true 
economy to remove these without delay. 

Culling tests can and should be applied always in the 
selection of fowls for table use and, where many fowls 
are thus used, or retail sales made from time to time, 
the culling that the flock will receive in this way may in 
itself be sufficient to keep the per- 
centage of egg production up to a 
high standard throughout the whole 
laying season. Continuous culling in 
the manner just suggested, is un- 
doubtedly the most efficient way of 
handling the small flock. Failing in 
this, there should be one or, better 
.still, two regular cullings each sum- 
mer, as well as one in the fall. 

The first one should be about mid- 
summer. At this time the inferior 
layers will be dropping out for the 
molt and, if they are disposed of 
promptly, several months of expen- 
sive feeding will be saved. This 
culling should not be too severe, as 
many good hens may not be laying 
at the precise time the test is made, 
having stopped temporarily on ac- 
count of broodiness or for a short 



rest. Such hens will i-esumc laying later on and often prove, 
extra-good producers of fall eggs, when prices are almost 
double what they were in early summer. The fall culling, 
in September or early October, can be much more thor- 
ough, as the inferior hens may be detected then by sever- 
al tests and those that are still laying can scarcely be 
overlooked on the most superficial examination. It is tak- 
en for granted that the pullets also will be thoroughly in- 
spected when placed in winter quarters, or after they 
have been laying for a short time. If this is done, apply- 
ing the tests described in Chapter X, it is possible to re- 
duce quite largely the percentage of poor layers that will 
have to be carried through the winter. 

Yellow Legs Need Not Be Sacrificed to Productiveness 

There is a tendency among many to show a preference 
for yellow-legged fowls at the annual fall round-up, when 
surplus stock is disposed of and the flock culled down to 
winter strength. Selecting fowls for this character in the 
fall is just about certain to result in retaining the poor- 
est layers, while the best hens in the flock — the bleached- 
out, ragged looking individuals — are sent to market. So 
long as the consuming public demands yellow-skinned 
fowls, clearly the practical thing to do is to cater to this 
preference. And it should be generally understood that 
there is no necessary conflict between this market re- 
quirement and the bleached-out shanks of the heavy-lay- 
ing hen. Bear in mind that such hens may have just as 
yellow legs as any, in the nonlaying season; also that 
shanks bleached out as the result of laying have no in- 
fluence on color of the legs of chicks, which are just as 
likely to have yellow legs as if descended from highly 
pigmented hens. 

There is a marked difference, however, in the degree 
of yellow normally present in shanks of different fowls, 
and presumably such differences are inherited. The poul- 
try breeder, therefore, must discriminate between fowls 
whose shanks are naturally pale in color and those in 
which the pigmentation normally present is temporarily 
bleached out as a result of heavy and long-continued pro- 
duction. It is not difficult to avoid confusion on this 
point if the birds are examined at the proper time. They 
should be culled for laying qualities at the end of the 
laying season, and culled again for yellow shanks at the 
beginning of the next laying or breeding season. If this 




2,v-FOWLS SHOULD KKEP IN GOOD HEALTH AND BE Hlf.IILN' I'KOFITABLE 
AMIDST SUCH SURROUNDINGS 



96 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



practice is followed there should be no difficulty in hav- 
ing the desired yellow legs on the market stock, along 
with constant improvement in egg production. 

Selective Flock Breeding on the Farm 

Trap nesting, pedigree breeding, and extreme methods 
generally are out of the question on the farm where the 
poultry work must not, as a rule, be allowed to make 
serious demands upon either time or attention. Selective 




1 U.. 126-.\ F.\RM Cl'LUNG SCHOOL l.\ MlSSOLIil 

flock breeding, however, is a simple, practical method 
readily adopted by any person who takes any interest at 
all in the improvement of his flock and in increasing his 
net profits. Selective flock breeding can be applied to 
any flock, regardless of the breed or quality of the fowls 
mated, but it would be a great waste of opportunity to 
try thus to improve a flock of mixed or mongrel breeding, 
when standard-bred stock of excellent quality can be so 
cheaply secured. 

It is not necessary to use fowls of exhibition quality 
if the owner is not interested in this branch of the bus- 
iness and has no disposition to profit from the sale of 
eggs for hatching and breeding stock. The experience 
of every one who has given standard-bred utility stock a 
fair trial however, has been that, with such fowls, better 
egg yields can be secured, also larger and more rapid 
grovrth, and greater uniformity in the product as to size, 
color, and quality. Moreover, the greatly increased at- 
tractiveness of the well-bred flock is something that ap- 
peals to practically every one. 

Those who now have flocks of mixed breeding need not 
feel that it is necessary for them either to continue with 
their present low-grade stock or to dispose of it entirely 
and start over again. There are two ways in which these 
mixed flocks can be improved, and at comparatively slight 
expense. One way, and probably the best way in the long 
run, is to continue to keep and to breed the stock on hand, 
culling carefully, however, in order to use only the best 
producers. At the same time, provide some standard- 
bred stock of good quality by the purchase of a small 
breeding pen or, if that is too expensive, by the purchase 
of a single sitting of eggs or a few day-old chicks of the 
preferred breed. Give these blue-blooded chicks the best 
possible chance, but do not try to keep them separate 
from the remainder of the flock. Let them have the ad- 



vantage of free range and farm conditions generally while 
growing. At the beginning of the breeding season exam- 
ine them carefully to see whether or not they will meet 
the general tests prescribed for good layers, then put 
them in a separate pen where they will have plenty of 
room, give them the best of care and attention, and save 
every desirable egg for hatching. 

Another plan of improving flocks of mixed breeding, 
which is simpler and which, therefore, commends itself 
to many, is to grade them up by the use of standard-bred 
males. It is astonishing what results can be secured in 
a season or two by mating a high-class breeding male 
with common stock. In starting to grade up the flock 
in this way, the farmer should determine definitely what 
breed he prefers and then adhere rigidly to this decision, 
avoidmg the common tendency to change from one breed 
to another, thus sacrificing each year what was gained 
the year before, and leaving the flock no better than it 
was originally. 

The experimental work done at the Kansas Exp. Sta- 
tion shows what can be accomplished along this line at 
slight cost. Flocks of mixed breeding, such as are or- 
dinarily found on average Kansas farms, after only three 
years of grading up, presented the appearance o"f good 
standard-bred stock, and at the same time average pro- 
<luction was increased almost 100 per cent. 

In securing new males, whether for grading or for use 
in standard-bred flocks, it is important to be sure that 
they are from strains distinguished for heaw production. 
Even in the same breed there are great differences in the 
productiveness of various strains and, as the males are 
believed to be highly important in the transmission of 
egg laying ability, it is of the greatest importance al- 
ways to select those that are descended from high-produc- 
ing hens. The more generations of heavy-laying ancestry 
back of them, the more likely they are to "possess, in a 
high degree, the ability to transmit this character to 
their offspring. Do not be afraid to pay a good price for 
such males. Let all matings be truly constructive in the 
sense that they are intended to secure not only increased 
production but, along with it, the other highly desirable 
qualities of truly standard-bred fowls. 

Summary 

Fowls probably excel all other classes of live stock in 
the efficiency with which they are able to turn grain into 
human food. 

The larger breeds are most popular with farmers and, 
under average conditions, probably are more profitable 
on farms than the so-called egg breeds. 

Accurate culling of fowls is only possible where they 
have been rea.sonably well fed and cared for. 

In a culling campaign in Missouri, eighteen carloads 
of slacker hens were sent to market from four counties, 
which illustrates the high percentage of such hens in the 
average unculled flock. 

Where continuous culling is not practiced, there should 
be at least two regular cullings each season — the first 
about midsummer, and the second in early fall. 

Pullets should be culled about the time they are placed 
in winter quarters or shortly after they have begun to lay. 

Yellow legs need not be sacrificed to productiveness 
if the breeders are properly selected. 

The bleached-out shanks of a heavy layer have no in- 
fluence upon the color of the legs of chicks. 

Selective flock breeding is of special importance to the 
farm poultry keeper. This method can be applied to any 
flock regardless of breed. 

Those who have mixed flocks often find it most prac- 
tical to improve them by securing a small pen of standard- 
quality breeding stock, gradually replacing their mixed 
fowls with the superior chicks raised from this pen. 

Many prefer to improve their flocks by grading, mat- 
ing the best hens each year with standard-bred males of 
bred-to-lay ancestry. 



C II A P T E K X J 1 1 



Systematic Culling for the Commercial Flock 

The Commercial Poultry Keeper's Special Problems and How He Can Meet Them Most Successfully — To Realize 

the Largest Profit From the Commercial Flock, Thorough and Persistent Culling Must Be Practiced— 

How the Summer Egg Yield Can Be Kept up to Fifty Per Cent and the Feed Bill Greatly Reduced 




HE last few years have seen a great increase 
in the number of commercial flocks kept in 
different sections of the country and, as a 
rule, these have been operated with a higher de- 
gree of success and profit than ever before. 
More thorough knowledge of the principles of productive 
poultry keeping, improved facilities for doing the work 
economically, and better methods for increasing the ef- 
ficiency both of the poultry keeper and his flock have 
been largely responsible for this development. 

When it comes to a question of low-cost production, 
few if any commercial poultry keepers can compete with 
farm flocks, with their free range, cheap feed, and almost 
unnoticed expense for labor. However, the commercial 
poultry keeper finds that with good management he is 
more than able to overcome this handicap of increased 
cost by the greater production which he realizes from 
his fowls, and by the higher prices which he is able to 
obtain as a result of the superior quality of his products 
and the better opportunity he usually has for marketing 
them to good advantage. 

The commercial poultry keeper finds that in a num- 
ber of respects his methods must be distinctly different 
from those of the farmer. Because feed costs are greater, 
he must learn to buy to as good advantage as possible, 
and must scrupulously avoid waste; the capital invested 
usually much exceeds the amount needed for a corre- 
sponding number of farm fowls, hence both land and build- 
ings must be more heavily stocked — often to the prac- 
tical limit; since labor must be figured at the regular 
rate, methods of management must be as efficient as pos- 
sible, and maximum growth and production must be se- 
cured at all times. 

The commercial poultry keeper must give special at- 
tention to the marketing of his pro- 
ducts. Failure to do this means the 
loss of a large part of his possible 
profit and may, in fact, make his ven- 
ture a losing one instead of a finan- 
cial success. Those who live close to 
market have some advantages over 
those who operate at a distance, and 
to this fact many attribute the extra- 
ordinary development of commercial 
poultry keeping in the vicinity oi 
Boston, Philadelphia, and New York 
■ — the greatest poultry markets in the 
United States. Just to what extent 
this localization of the iiidustry is due 
to superior marketing facilities, and 
how much to other causes not directly 
associated with such advantages, has 
not been clearly established. 



Developments in intensive poultry keeping have been 
especially marked in New Jersey and the Petaluma Dis- 
trict (Calif.) where many conditions are favorable to this 
method. There is no reason to believe, however, that 
either New Jersey or any other especially popular center 
of production has a monopoly on opportunities for engag- 
ing in commercial poultry keeping. When the producers 
of the Petaluma District can ship eggs clear across the 
continent, as they now are doing, realizing prices only 
slightly below (juotations on strictly near-by eggs, there is 
the best reason fur believing that producing centers could 
readily be developed in many sections at a distance from 
market but where other conditions are scarcely less fav- 
orable than in these two widely known localities. As a 
matter of fact, this has already been done, for example, 
in the Morristown District in eastern Teimesseo, where a 
poultry industry of decideil magnitude has sprung up in 
recent years, without any special advantages except a 
fairly mild climate, good railroad connections, and (which 
appears to have been by far the most important) the 
presence in the community of a few public-spirited men 
who have made it their business to encourage and promote 
the development of the industry. Without doubt, equal or 
greater successes could be realized in many other sections 
of the country. 

Why Culling Is Especially Important to the Specialist 

Most commercial plants are devoted chiefly to the pro- 
duction of market eggs. While the surplus fowls are 
salable at good prices, the net sum that can be realized 
from them is not regarded as important, nor does the 
production of table fowls as a specialty appeal to the 
average person w-ho wishes to engage extensively in poul- 
try keeping. Because of the fact, therefore, that his in- 




FIG. 1J;-SCENE ON NEW JERSEY' LEGHORN FARM 



In the mild climate of New Jersey, houses of low-cost construction with muslin- 
covered front and no glass are successfully used. Glass is recommended, however, for 
best results. 



98 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



come is derived almost exclusively from eggs, there is no 
one to whom culling is of greater importance than to 
the commercial poultry keeper. Every day that he 
keeps a nonproducing hen in his flock he is losing 
money on her. 

Poultry surveys in New Jersey have shown that, in 
that section at least, it is necessary to secure an average 
production of 100 to 110 eggs per fowl, or 110 to 120 when 
feed is extremely high, in order to realize a satisfactory 




FIG. 128— VIEW ON EGG FARM NEAR MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE 

Morristown, in eastern Tennessee, is the center of a prosperous commercial poultry 
farming section. White Leghorns are kept on most of these farms. Through refriger- 
ator car service to New York City is maintained, and producers get good price* for 
eggs the year around 

income. While this is much above average production, 
taking the country as a whole, it is not a difficult 
standard to reach with any of the popular breeds. It is 
doubtful, as a matter of fact, whether any properly culled 
flock will fall below an average of 100 eggs per hen, no 
matter what breed is represented, and well-bred fowls, 
properly cared for, should do much better. 

The commercial poultry keeper, with his high cost of 
feed, and his high labor cost and "overhead", cannot af- 
ford to follow the practice of the average farmer in cull- 
ing only once or twice in a season. He mu.st, in order to 
keep his flock at a high state of efficiency, begin culling 
almost with the baby chicks, watching them through the 
season and promptly marketing any pullets that develop 
undesirable characters or those that are indicative of low- 
constitutional vigor or inferior egg laying capacity. 

In the fall when the pullets are to be placed in winter 
quarters, he will cull them with special care and, without 

fail, will market those that do not 

respond favorably to the tests applied. 
Few poultry keepers find it necessary 
or desirable to do any special culling 
during late winter and spring, aside 
from promptly removing from the 
flock any birds that develop marked 
indications of poor health, low consti- 
tutional vigor or inability to lay. Af- 
ter carrying the birds up to this time, 
it is wiser to keep them through the 
regular laying season when even the 
poorest producers usually will make 
at least some return for their winter's 
feeding. By June, however, summer 
culling begins in earnest on the up-to- 
date poultry plant and, from this time 
on until practically all the birds have 
stopped for the molt in the fall, cull- 
ing will be repeated at frequent inter- 



vals in order to eliminate the quitters as they develop. 

The methods of culling described in the foregoing 
chapters make it possible to pick out the nonlayers with 
a good degree of accuracy writhin a very few days after 
they have stopped. A week's idleness produces a marked 
change in pigmentation about the vent, and within a few 
days more its presence may be detected in the ear lobes 
and at the base of the beak. At this time, also, the birds 
which are only indifferent layers may be detected and re- 
moved, their inferiority being betray- 
ed by imperfectly bleached shanks, 
poor head points, lack of abdominal 
capacity, etc. ALL of the methods 
of culling that have been described 
in previous chapters should be applied 
to these birds — do not make the mis- 
take of relying upon only a single 
character. 

The appearance of the vent will 
show unmistakably whether the hen 
is laying at the time she is examined, 
while the eye ring, ear lobe, beak, and 
shanks in succession give their clues 
as to the length of the period during 
which she has laid. The egg farm- 
ers of New Jersey depend quite large- 
ly upon the appearance of the comb in 
detecting the hens that have -stopped laying (see Chapter 
VI). The beak is helpful in determining whether or not 
the hen is a constant heavy layer or takes long rest 
periods. The spread of the pelvic bones and the keel show 
capacity, while the condition of the abdomen is an almost 
infallible indication of high and low productivity. By ap- 
plying all the tests as herein described, the observer may 
rest assured that he can readily detect the best layers and 
can eliminate the unprofitable ones with a great degree 
of accuracy. 

How to Secure Fifty Per Cent Production 

By the foregoing term is meant a daily egg yield equal 
to one-half the total number of fowls in the flock. For 
example, fifty per cent production in a flock of one hun- 
dred hens means an average of fifty eggs a day. During 
the natural laying season, or from the first of March to 
the first of September, as a general average, it is not only 




FIG. 129— EVERY NEST OCCUPIED AND A GOOD WAITING LIST 



The owner of this commercial flock was dissatisfied with his summer production, 
and culled his hens. Above photo was taken in the house containing the selected lay- 
ers showing every nest occupied. At the time this photo was taken all the nests were 
EMPTY in the house containing the CL^LLS. 



SYSTEMATIC CULLING FOR THE COMMERCIAL FLOCK 



99 



possible to secure such production, but the commercial 
poultry keeper cannot afford to fall much short of this 
standard. This subject is considered more in detail in 
Chapter XVII, but the importance of systematic culling 
as a means to this end is so great as to warrant calling- 
particular attention to it here. 

It is safe to assume that when production falls below 
fifty per cent during the period just mentioned, there are 
some hens in the flock that are not laying. According to 
Professor Lewis of the New Jersey Experiment Station 
(see page 33), the number of layers in any flock can be 
estimated approximately by doubling the percentage of 
production. That is, forty per cent production indicates 
eighty layers in a flock of one hundred hens; in other 
words, there are twenty in the flock that are nonproduc- 
tive. To secure a fifty per cent egg yield therefore, these 
twenty idle hens must be detected and removed. 

The farmer with his low production costs may safely 
adopt a lower standard for his flock if he wishes to do so; 
the breeder who generally keeps a much larger percentage 
of old hens, and who desires maximum production dur- 
ing the breeding season, may not want heavy summer 
production; but the commercial poultry keeper cannot re- 
tain in his flock a large percentage of nonproducers with- 
out serious and unnecessary loss. 

Selective Flock Breeding 

The commercial poultry keeper has an exceptionally 
good opportunity to apply methods of selective flock 
breeding to his flock. He usually is better equipped with 
facilities for separately housing his breeding birds, and 
for giving special care to the chicks hatched from such 
stock; he also has more to gain by giving this subject his 
particular attention. The importance 
of securing high average production it - ; 
has already been described, and the 
only way in which this can be brought 
about permanently is by persistently 
breeding from such producers. With 
good breeding methods applied to his 
flock the poultry keeper will find not 
only that his average egg yield will 
increase, but also that he will have 
to meet a rapidly increasing demand 
for eggs for hatching and day-old 
chicks. And, as this trade can be 
cared for without interfering with 
commercial production and represents 
a much better per cent of profit, it 
affords a source of additional revenue 
that few can afford to ignore. This 
is another reason for seeing to it that 
commercial flocks are of good stan- 
dard quality, within practical limits, 
and that the breeding fowls receive 
the additional care and attention re- 
quired in order to produce hatching 
eggs of the highest quality. 

It cannot be too plainly stated 
that selective flock breeding followed 
year after year means permanent im- 
provement in production averages. In 
seasons of low prices for eggs or 
high prices for feed, when the aver- 
age poultry keeper's margin of profit 
is greatly reduced or perhaps entire- 



ly wiped out, those who have brought their flocks up to a 
high average of production find that their profits are still 
good, possibly even greater than under what would gener- 
ally be termed more favorable conditions. For example. 
Ill most without exception, those whose flocks had reached 
a high average of productiveness reported that their prof- 
its during the years 1916-17, and 1917-18, which proved so 
disastrous to many, were fully as great as in any former 
year, or even more so, due to the fact that while the price 
of feed was high, the price of their products was higher 
still. The poultry keeper, therefore, who makes high 
average production his goal, is not only certain of greater 
profits under normal conditions but, as just shown, has a 
safe margin of profit under conditions which may mean 
actual loss to those whose flocks are on a low level of 
productiveness. 

Summary 

More exact knowledge and the development of better 
methods have resulted in a marked increase in number of 
commercial poultry flocks in recent years. 

Poultry specialists cannot compete with farmers in low 
cost of production, but have a number of important ad- 
vantages that may more than overcome this handicap. 

The commercial poultry keeper must give especial at- 
tention to cost figures and to marketing his product. 

No one locality has a monopoly of opportunity for 
engaging in successful poultry keeping. 

The poultry specialist must get an average of 100 to 
120 eggs per hen to realize a fair income. To do this he 
must cull persistently. 

Fifty per cent production in summer is largely a mat- 
ter of systematic culling. 

Selective flock breeding means permanent improve- 
ment in production averages in any laying flock. 

The best protection against low prices of eggs or 
normally high prices for feed i 



ab- 



higia average production. 



Frkes for the Lasi5*k )^ars 




TeL. Ffar Apr flay June July Aug Sept Oct 



FIG 130-(,RAPH SHOWINO WHOLESALE hOG PRICES IN NLW 
NOV. 1. 1915, TO MAY 1, 1919 



\ORK i.n\ \I \KKI I 



This illustration makes it plain tliat a large part of the commercial egg farmer s profit 
depends upon the percentage of production he secures during the high-price months. He can 
well afford to provide comfortable houses for his early-hatched pullets, and to do every- 
thing else in his power, including the use of artificial illumination, to bring his winter 
production up to a high point— or 50 to 60 per cent, as a safe average. 



CHAPTER XIV 



Practical Culling Methods for Back- Yard Flocks 

Advantages in Keeping Back-yard Flocks, and Methods Best Adapted to Their Requirements — How Culling Keeps Down 

the Cost of Feeding the Flock Without Decreasing Production— Keep the Home Table Supplied by Killing 

Off the Slacker Hens — How to Turn the Nonproducers into Special-quality Table Fowls 




N THE last few years there has been a great 
increase in the number of back-yard flocks 
kept, and undoubtedly this has been to the dis- 
tinct advantage of their owners. Back-yard 
egg production is a practical economy that few 
can afford to ignore. A flock of 10 to 15 fowls, consum- 
ing the table scraps and waste from the kitchen garden, 
helped out by necessary feed from the poultry supply 
store, will provide enough eggs to meet all the require- 
ments of the average family, and at a fraction of their 
cost if bought at regular market prices. 

What is of even greater importance to the average 
household is that a good home flock insures having eggs 
when wanted, particularly during the high-price sea.son 
when they otherwise would 
be practically unobtainable. 
Observation has shown ton. 
that, with strictly fresh egjj 
of unquestionable qualit\ , 
consumption quickly increa 
es so that many more egu 
are regularly consumed thun 
would ever be called for un- 
der other conditions. Many 
who have back-yard flocks of 
good size find that they can 
reduce their meat bill by one 
• half, not only effecting a 
decided saving in the cost of 
living but often with marked 
improvement in health. Of 
all the animal foods avail- 
able, none is more readily di- 
gested or more healthful than eggs. It is for this reason 
that they invariably are prescribed for invalids and chil- 
dren, and they are just as healthful and nourishing for 
the able-bodied. 

Where there are growing children in the family, the 
liberal use of eggs is especially important. Recent re- 
searches have established the fact that eggs and milk are 
the best and cheapest sources of a group of important nu- 
tritive elements known as vitamines. These are regarded 
as essential to normal growth and development. Unfor- 
tunately, in the average home the free use of eggs is out 
of the question during a large part of the year on account 
of cost. It is true that eggs can successfully be put down 
in water glass in the summer and kept for winter use at 
an important saving, but such eggs are not fresh. The 
same is true as regards storage eggs. These are used in 
enormous quantities each winter but no one expects to 
find in them the delicate, appetizing flavor that charac- 
terizes newly laid eggs, and in the absence of which ma.x- 
imum consumption can never be secured. With a home 
flock all this is changed, and eggs at once take the im- 
portant place in the diet to which their qualities clearly 
entitle them. The difficulty sometimes encountered at 




FIG. 131— Tllli B.XtK-VAKU I'OLXTRV KEEPER H.\S THE BEST 
CHANCE TO SECURE MAXIMUM PRODUCTION" PER HEX 

The .T. W. Parks' strain Rocks in the small pen illustrated 
above practically all e.xceetled 200 eggs in the twelve months of 
their pullet year. One ot them has a record of 313 eggs in that time. 
Whatever breed is selected, the foundation stock should be of 
some good bred-to-Iay strain. Photo from Prof. E. F. Grundlioef- 
ier, State College, Pa. 



the home table, of having persons get tired of eggs when 
freely used, is readily met by more variety in serving 
them. There are many highly palatable ways in which 
eggs may be prepared for the table, hence the number con- 
sumed is largely under the control of the housewife. 
Methods Simplified 
Methods of poultry keeping have become greatly sim- 
plified and results are much more satisfactory and success 
more certain than was the case a few years ago. The 
method now commonly followed, of keeping the back-yard 
flock confined to the house practically the year around, re- 
moves one of the objectionable features, that of dirty, 
foul-smelling yards which are almost unavoidable where 
Where the fowls are provided with convenient, com- 
fortable, and attractive 
houses, such as the one 
shown in Fig. 133, and kept 
confined-to it constantly, san- 
itary conditions may be of 
the best, and with proper 
care and feeding the fowls 
will lay almost as well as if 
on open range. So managed, 
poultry keeping becomes a 
pleasure as well as a source 
of profit, and there is ample 
room to keep a flock in even 
the smallest of back yards. 
It is always wise to build 
the house on runners for 
easy moving, but by all 
means build it substantially 
and neatly. It only costs a 
little more to have a house that is attractive from the 
outside, comfortable for the hens, and convenient for the 
caretaker, as compared with the makeshift structures so 
often provided with mistaken economy. The right kind of 
a house will aid in getting much better returns from the 
flock, it can be cared for with half the labor and annoy- 
ance, and if it becomes necessary to dispose of it through 
any change of plans it can be sold to some one else, pro- 
vided it is built so that it can readily be moved. 

Special Need for Culling 

The back-yard poultry keeper, even though he may 
have only a small flock, will find that culling is relatively 
as important to him as to those who number their fowls 
by the hundred. Just because only a few birds are kept 
is no reason why one should be satisfied to keep any that 
are making no adequate return for the feed and care be- 
stowed upon them. Moreover, the average back-yard flock 
is almost always overcrowded and in practically all such 
cases the removal of one or two or more of the poor pro- 
ducers not only cuts down the feed bill, but the remaining 
birds, with more room and perhaps better feeding, will 
lay more eggs than before. This is one of the reasons 



PRACTICAL CULLING METHODS FOR BACK-YARD FLOCKS 



101 



why so many culling: reports show better production 
after culling than was secured from the larger number 
in the original flock. 

Many back-yard poultry keepers cannot or do not 
wish to raise their own stock, but plan to buy a new 
adult flock each fall, killing off the fowls in the summer 
as they stop laying, thus to avoid feeding them through 
the nonproductive period of fall and early winter, and 
incidentally providing a supply of Sunday chicken din- 
ners through the summer. The flock then is replaced 
in the early fall with another lot. Starting in the fall is 
especially popular since reasonably quick returns may 
be expected. If early-hatched pullets can be secured at 
fair prices they may be brought into laying- with only 
slight delay. Later-hatched pullets and yearling hens 
must be fed for a considerably longer period before they 
become profitably productive. 

Perhaps one of the errors that the back-yard poultry 
keeper is most apt to fall into is in being too impatient 
with his new flock, expecting the fowls to lay almost as 
soon as he acquires possession of them, and being greatly 
concerned when he sees no returns coming in for the feed 
given daily. There are good reasons why the new flock 
is not apt to begin laying at once, and some delay is al- 
ways to be expected. Any change in quarters may inter- 
fere with the productiveness of fowls, either pullets or 
hens, and if they are not in good condition when bought 
several weeks' feeding may be required before many eggs 
will be secured. If the owner gets impatient or discour- 
aged and neglects them or, as is too often done, tries to 
economize by reducing the feed, he may never get the 
returns that he .should and could have secured. It is im- 
portant to bear in mind that there is nothing especially 
difficult about securing good egg production when the 
fowls are in condition to lay, but enough time must be 
allowed to bring this about. Even though there may be 
weeks of delay in getting started, they can confidently 
be counted on to return a substantial profit for the year 
if properly cared for. 

With either late pullets or molting hens, the waiting 
period can be greatly reduced by the 
use of artificial illumination which 
has been proved beyond question to 
be of great value in bringing fowls 
quickly into laying in fall and early 
winter. It is growing increasingly 
difficult to secure first-class early- 
hatched pullets at prices within 
the reach of the average buyer's 
pocketbook, and it is worth while to 
understand that with the help of arti- 
ficial illumination the long period of 
heavy feeding that used to be neces- 
sary in order to bring late-hatched 
pullets and yearling hens into laying 
condition can be noticeably shortened. 
Experiments have shown that with 
artificial lighting late pullets can be 
brought quickly into laying and even 
made to exceed the production of 
"unlighted" pullets hatched much 
earlier. For example, at Sunny Crest 
Farm, East Aurora, New York, 2,100 
pullets were sorted over in the fall, 
and 1,600 of the best and earliest 



were placed in one flock and the lemaining 500 in an- 
othei-. These pullets were described by the owner as be- 
ing "the weakest, smallest, and most unpromising of our 
entire flock (naturally including the latest hatches.- — Ed.). 
We greatly regretted that two pens, or 200 of these birds, 
we had not sold to market". During October and Novem- 
ber this "poor" flock was noticeably far behind the other 
in percentage of production, but within ten days after arti- 
ficial illumination was introduced it had passed the 
earlier-hatched and better pullets (which were without 
"lights'"), and within about a month was producing 40 
to (35 per cent, while the better pullets were ranging from 
only 25 to 35 per cent. Similar results have been se- 
cured at Cornell University and elsewhere, thus showing 
that the back-yard pogltry keeper who cannot secure 
oarly-hatched pullets need not, therefore, be disappointed 
in having a productive winter flock. 

.\hvays Cull New Stock 

Obviously, it is necessary in buying undersized and 
inferior pullets culled from some other flock thoroughly 
to understand the practice of culling so that the least 
productive individuals can be thrown out. Notice par- 
ticularly the head points, and cull rigidly for fowls of low 
constitutional vigor. 

The beginner, in purchasing his stock, is apt to select 
nifeiior specimens unless he has given careful study to 
the subject. This is particularly the case in purchasing 
in the open market, since so many of the fowls offered 
him are likely to be nonlayers culled from some well- 
posted poultry keeper's flock. Whether buying pullets 
in the fall or laying hens in the spring, it is quite im- 
portant to become familiar with the characters of good 
and poor producers. If pullets are to be purchased, care- 
fully apply the tests herein suggested. To do this wdl 
enable the buyer to discard the most inferior ones offered, 
with a marked increase in the total number of eggs se- 
cured during the year— probably at no greater initial ex- 
pense for the stock. 

Age and season must be taken into consideration in 
close culling. If any of the fowls are laying when handled 




FIG. 132-.\ PRACTICAL BACK-YARD POULTRY PLANT 

House liere shown has been in use for several years by Prof. H. R L'^^? "■. ^'f"^ 
Jersey Exp. Station. It is doubtful whether the back- yard space occupied by this house 
and small run could be put to any more profitable use. 



102 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



it is comparatively easy to pick them out. In the fall, 
good, well-matured pullets can be scored before laying 
has begun, doing so with a good degree of accuracy by 
following the suggestions given in Chapter X. In buying 
either hens or pullets in the spring, a good many are apt 
to be included that will lay only under the most favorable 
conditions. Where only a few are purchased this may not 
be important, as the inferior ones can be culled out and 
used on the table as their unfitness develops. 

In early-summer culling some judgment must be e.xer- 
cised, particularly as regards broody hens. Often these 
will "come back" after a rest and prove to be the best 
late summer and fall layers in the flock. Whether they 
are likely to do this or to molt and remain idle all fall 
can usually be determined by careful examination, apply- 
ing the various tests elsewhere described. Begin culling 
just as soon as the egg yield falls below 50 per cent— which 
may be in June. Any percentage below that means that 
there are some idle hens in the flock, and many of them will 
not be profitably productive at any time thereafter. Be- 
cause of the small size of his flock, and the close ob- 
servation that he is able to bring to bear upon it, the 
back-yard poultry keeper need have no difficulty in detect- 
ing his unproductive fowls at any season. 

Owing to the heavy feeding that the average back- 
yard flock receives, along with close confinement and 
limited exercise, overfattening is of common occurrence. 
In almost any flock some hens will get overfat on rations 
that are well adapted to the needs of the rest. Such hens 
often are naturally good layers but to do well require 
a different ration from the others, or at least different 
feeding methods. It usually is not practical to give them 
special care, however, and as in this condition they are 
especially susceptible to disease, they should be culled out, 
no matter what showing they may make under regular 




FIG. 



US— A GOOD B.\CK-VARD POULTRY HOUSE— CAPACITY, AS 
ILLUSTRATED, 18-25 FOWLS 



This practical and comfortable house, used with complete success in the Vineland Egg 
Laying and Breeding Contest, is well adapted to back-yard use. It is 8x10 feet, 8 feet high 
at highest point, 5 feet, 5 inches at rear. As here shown it has a sand floor, but for gen- 
eral use a double-board floor should be provided unless house is to be permanent, in 
which case a concrete floor is desirable. 



culling tests. It is much better to use them on the table 
than to lose them through disease as is almost certain to 
happen sooner or later, if they are retained in the flock. 

How To Select Layers When Buying 

By no means all of the pullets and hens that are found 
on the market have been culled out as nonproducers. The 
application of culling tests is now so general, however, 
that the wise buyer will assume that this has been done 
in the case of any fowls offered him, and will accordingly 
use due caution in making his selections. 

Buying in the fall, where selection is to be made from 
early-hatched pullets, it is advisable always to choose 
those that are best matured, plump, and well developed, 
giving special attention to their head points (see Chapter 
VI). If choice is limited to later-hached, more or less 
immature pullets, size, condition of plumage, head points, 
and general indications of thrift will be helpful in select- 
ing those that are likely to mature earliest. Pullets that 
are in poor flesh, but apparently in good health, indicating 
that the lack of flesh is due simply to scant feeding, often 
will make remarkable improvement in appearance with a 
few weeks' feeding. 

In buying yearling hens in the fall notice with partic- 
ular care their physical condition. If they have been un- 
derfed, ordinary culling tests will be misleading if too 
strictly applied. If the birds are in good health, if they 
have fairly good span between pubic bones and keel, and if 
their abdomens are reasonably soft, they may prove to be 
good layers with proper care, even though they may be 
poor in flesh, and too highly pigmented, and their pubic 
bones too close together and too thick as judged by ordi- 
nary standards of comparison. Avoid all hens that have 
noticeable physical defects, particularly those that "bag 
down" or that have abdomens con- 
taining a hard lump, indicating a 
tumor or some other abnormal con- 
dition. 

Summary 
Back-yard poultry keeping is a 
practical economy that few persons 
can afford to ignore. 

Modern methods of back-yard poul- 
try keeping are simple, and success 
practically certain. 

Providing a comfortable and con- 
venient house is half the battle. 

Do not be too impatient with the 
new flock, however. Pullets or hens 
moved to a new location need a little 
time to get started. 

Where early-hatched pullets are not 
obtainable, good winter production 
can be secured in later pullets and 
yearling hens by the use of "lights". 

The back-yard poultry keeper must 
know the marks of good and poor lay- 
ers in order to avoid getting culls 
when buying in the open market. 

In early-summer culling be careful 
to avoid throwing out good producers 
that are simply taking a short "brood- 
ing" rest. 

In buying pullets select for early 
maturity and general thrift. 

Do not apply culling tests too 
strictly to hens that have evidently 
been underfed or mismanaged. 



CHAP T E R X \ 

What Culling Means to the Fancier 

The Growing Demand for Superior-Quality Breeding Stock With Heavy-Laying Ability Is Developing a New Field for 

the Fancier — Great Possibilities Open to Those Who Can Supply the Right Kind of Stock -Many Breeders 

Already Have Successfully Combined High Egg Production With Standard (Quality — 

Doing This Is Essential to the Best Interests of the Poultry Industry 




THE fancier the chief value of information 
regarding the characters that indicate egg-lay- 
ing ability or the lack of it lies in its applica- 
tion to his breeding problems. He is directly 
interested, of course, in eliminating poor pro- 
ducers from his flock and in keeping only fowls that show 
a good profit in eggs produced, but he is much more deep- 
ly concerned with utilizing his newly acquired knowledge 
further to improve the productive cagacity of his fowls 
without injury to or neglect of their showroom quality. 

That this is not an extremely difficult problem is prov- 
ed by the records of production at every laying contest 
in this and other countries where (with the exception 
of Prof. Dryden's new egg breed, the "Oregons") prac- 
tically every high producer has been standard-bred. So 
far as the popular breeds are concerned at least, breeding 
intensively to meet the requirements of the Standard has 
in no way injured the pro- 
ductivity of the fowls — has 
in fact, resulted in develop- 
ment along lines THAT 
MAKE GREAT EGG REC- 
ORDS POSSIBLE, This is 
all the more creditable to 
the fancier since, up to a 
comparatively recent date, 
neither he nor the utility 
poultry keeper had any ac- 
curate knowledge of how 
to breed specifically for 
egg production or how to 
identify the physical chai- 
acters indicating it. 

It is true that the win- 
ners in some contests, 
while listed under breed 
names, have not been good 
representatives of the 
breed, and much has been made of this fact in some quar- 
ters. But it also is true that the particular strains of 
inferior quality that a few years ago were in the lead 
now are being distanced by fowls that conform more near- 
ly to standard requirements. By way of illustrating the 
practical combination of standard qualities and produc- 
tiveness already achieved by breeders, note the following 
from Storrs Bulletin 100, regarding the fowls entered in 
the Seventh Annual International Egg Laying Contest: 

"In considering the birds entered in the seventh com- 
petition from the viewpoint of showroom quality, the man- 
agement decided to dispense with the score-card system 
of judging employed in the previous three years. Ac- 
cordingly all birds were judged on a comparison basis. 
This method simplified the judging process considerably 
and saved a great amount of clerical work, while at the 
same time each pen could be placed in exactly its proper 




FIG. I34-HEAVV-LAVING PEN OF STAXD.\RD-BRED WIIITF. 
PLYMOUTH ROCKS 



The 
months 



hens here sliowii averaged to lay 
at National (Mo.) Laying Contest. 



representatives of the hreed fr 



relationship to all other pens of the same variety. Inas- 
much as there has been considerable agitation on the ques- 
tion of whether or not show qualities and egg-laying abil- 
ity can be combined in the same individual, it is interest- 
ing to see what the contest records have to show on this 
problem. The average production per pen of ten birds 
in the seventh competition was 1690, 1394, 1683, 1530, 
1480, and 1628 eggs respectively for Barred Rocks, White 
Rocks, White Wyandottes, Buff Wyandottes, Rhode Island 
Reds, and White Leghorns. The corresponding figures 
for those pens comprising the best 25 per cent of each 
variety when considered from a showroom standpoint were 
1739, 1346, 1834, 1582, 1390, and 1672 respectively. In 
the case of White Plymouth Rocks the number of pens 
was only four, and consequently the figures are less sug- 
gestive than in the case of White Leghorns, where forty- 
three pens were entered. Taken as a whole, this material 

certainly constitutes an ar- 
gument for the contention 
that showroom and utility 
qualities can be combined 
in the same strain of birds."' 
More evidence of the 
same sort is presented in 
Fig. 137 which indicates 
the correlation existing be- 
tween standard qualities 
and egg production as ob- 
served in the Plymouth 
Rocks entered in the Vine- 
land Egg Laying and 
Breeding Contest. In study- 
ing this table it should be 
remembered that the birds 
were scored as they enter- 
ed the contest, and were 
by no means in showroom 
condition. It was stated 
that "On the ground of condition alone these birds could 
have been made to score four or five points higher, on the 
average, than they actually did," which indicates that they 
were of even better than ordinary exhibition quality. In 
this table it will be seen that the majority of the best 
layers (averaging 180 to 210 eggs) scored around 86-88 
points. There were almost no low-scoring birds among the 
high producers, and but few high-scoring fowls among the 
inferior layers. Similar correlation tables for Reds, Wy- 
andottes, and Leghorns in this contest (see Figs. 138, 139, 
and 140) all illustrate the same combination of good ex- 
hibition quality with productiveness. 

Egg Type in Standard Fowls 

There is no reason for questioning the fact that all 
the essentials of egg type (or to speak more accurately — 
egg-laying capacity), so far as this subject now is under- 



5.8 eggs each, in IJ 
They also arc good 



the fancier's viewpoint. 



104 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



stood, can be secured in any of our popular breeds with- 
out any important change in standard type. At the 
Second Annual Poultry Judging and Breeding School at 
Cornell University, July 1919, where laying capacity was 
definitely defined (see Chapter VII), it developed that 
most of the government experts there assembled believed 
that heavy-laying fowls in certain breeds, particularly 




IIG. US—HOW rRODUCTION MODIFIES TYPE— A GOOD LAYER 

The hen here illustrated was a heavy producer and has the large 
soft abdomen and wide span between pubic bones and keel that 
give ample capacity for necessary development of digestive and egg 
organs. Compare with Fig. 1.^6. Photo from Cornell ITniversity. 

Leghorns and Wyandottes, are longer bodied than repre- 
sentatives of the extreme show type. It is important to 
remember however, that length of body is a relative term, 
and in practical breeding may mean little more than the 
longer appearing, less rounded underline which may be 
produced without any change in body dimensions other 
than the spreading of the keel bone. For illustration of 
this compare Figs. 135 and 136, showing in profile the 
body of a good and a poor layer. The good layer here 
is no longer than the other but in full plumage would 
certainly appear so, owing to the position of the keel. 
With these two fowls in mind, a study of the Standard's 
"ideal" Leghorn and Wyandotte will suggest how breed- 
ing for a smoothly rounded underline may readily result 
in a "tucked-up" keel — a highly objectionable character 
from a practical viewpoint. This clearly is a character 
that the fancier must avoid even if, to do so, it should be- 
come necessary to modify the Standard description on this 
detail. That the standard Wyandotte type does not nec- 
essarily interfere with good egg production is proved by 
the outlines of the .309-egg hen shown in Fig. 141. 

Relation of Size to Productiveness 

The results secured at the Vineland Egg Laying and 
Breeding Contest, as set forth in the correlation tables in 
Figs. 109 and 110, show clearly that standard requirements 
as to weight are no handicap in productiveness in the case 
of any of the breeds represented. White Leghorns rang- 
ing in weight from three and a half to four pounds were 
better layers than those above or below that weight, while 
best production in R. I. Red, Wyandotte, and Plymouth 
Rock pens was secured with birds ranging from five to 
seven pounds, or seven and one-half in the case of Ply- 
mouth Rocks. 



Pigmentation Not a Serious Problem 

Standard requirements in regard to yellow pigment in 
such breeds as Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, etc., are no 
more difficult of adaptation to reasonable "utility" de- 
mand than is breed type. The commercial poultry keeper 
and the fancier alike want rich yellow skin and shanks in 
their fowls WHEN NOT LAYING. 

The exhibitor well knows that his pullets are at their 
best just before they begin to lay, and he plans to have 
them reach this stage of development about showtime, 
when their beaks and -shanks will be as yellow as they ever 
will be. To demand that a pullet shall show more or less 
loss of pigment at this time as a proof that she is a good 
layer would be to handicap all except extra-early-hatched 
birds and also would, in practice, put a premium upon pale 
beaks and shanks — a defect fully as objectionable to the 
commercial poultry keeper as to the fancier. As regards 
hens, by the time these have progressed sufficiently in the 
molt to be in winter showroom condition they will have re- 
gained their pigment in all sections. It may be practicable 
to modify the Standard so as to avoid handicapping pullets 
and hens that have been laying for some time when shown, 
such as hens at fall shows and extra-early pullets, but is 
iin open question whether for the time being that had not 
better be left to the discretion of the judges. 

About the only time that the fancier is in serious dan- 
ger of going astray in pigmentation tests is when mating 
up his breeding pens, and then only when this is done 
comparatively late in the season. At this time the pref- 
erence for fowls with bright yellow shanks may result 
in putting a premium on late-maturing pullets, or on 
hens that are apt to lay only for a short time in the spring 
— none of which .should ever be admitted to the breeding 
pen lio matter what their exhibition quality may be. 

The principle should be accepted by fancier and com- 
mercial poultry keeper alike, that shanks that have faded 
out as a result of production are in no way objectionable 
in breeding stock, since chicks from such fowls will have 
just as yellow legs as any. If the breeder will keep in 
mind that during the laying season bleached shanks are 
a badge of merit, and will look with suspicion upon any 




FIG. 136— HOW PRODUCTIOX MODIFIES TYPE— A POOR LAYER 

This hen was a very inferior producer. Her abdomen is much 
smaller than that of the one shown in Fig. 135 because her egg 
organs weigh nearly half a pound less, and her digestive organs 
also are smaller since she requires much less food. In actual 
length of body, however, she differs but little, if any, from the good 
layer shown in Fig. 135. Photo from Cornell L'niversity. 



WHAT CULLING MEANS TO THE FANCIER 



105 



hens or pullets having highly pigmented shanks at this 
time, he will have no difficulty in maintaining the yel- 
lowest of legs and skin in his fowls, doing this without 
putting them at any disadvantage whatever as regards 
productiveness. 



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FIG. U7— ST.\ND.'\RD QUALITY NO HANDICAP IN LAYING 
CONTESTS 

This correlation table for Plymouth Rocks at Vineland Laying 
Contest shows that the best production was secured with hens 
ranking above the general average of exhibition-quality fowls of 
their breed. Correlation tables of the Wyandottes, Reds, and Leg- 
horns entered at this contest (see Figs. 138, 139, and 140) show 
similar quality. Courtesy of New Jersey Experiment Station. 

Yellow Pigmentation in the Showroom 

This Article Suggests Changes In the Standard With 

Regard to Pigmentation Which the Authors Be- 

Heve Would Give Heavy Layers a Fair 

Ciiance In the Showroom 

Condensed from Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station 
Bulletin No. 92 

POULTRY shows are one of the mo.^t valuable agen- 
cies for fo.stering interest in the poultry industry. 
They afford an opportunity for a ready comparison 
of a large number of different poultry breeds, .strains, 
products and apparatus that would not be gotten to- 
gether otherwise. Of equal value probably is the occa- 
sion which they offer for the informal interchange of 
ideas between progressive poultry breeders. The more 
valuable an institution, the more care should be exercised 
to insure its improvement in response to the changing 
ideals of the times. 

Plants and animals have been domesticated and cul- 
tivated for one or both of two main reasons — for the 
pleasure which their presence gives us, or for some use- 
ful product which they yield in the form chiefly of food, 
clothing, or labor. The distinction is not absolute, even 
as the distinction between beauty and utility cannot be 
absolute, but in general we may distinguish the forms 
primarily ornamental from those primarily useful. The 
first are grown as pets, the second for utility. Orna- 
mental things may be useful, and the market value of a 
product is not diminished by the inherent beauty of the 
producer. In fact, the perfection of form and color that 
appeals to the eye may indirectly affect the yield. The 
pride of the flock or of the field will be most tenderly 
cared for. 

A visible character that has a direct connection with 
yield may be called a utility point, while one that has 
no such direct connection may be called a fancy point. 
Each may be developed without injury to the other, but 
the man who aims at but a single target is most likely 
to reach his mark. To the practical breeder the most 
valuable thing is yield. This the showroom almost en- 
tirely leaves out of consideration, either directly or by 
scoring on a multitude of fancy points that often have 
at best only a fancied connection with the object for which 
the breed is supposed to be cultivated. In the score card 
for dairy cattle no place is left for the quantity or 
quality of milk which the animal is capable of giving. 



In the ear of corn attention may be given to the straight- 
ness of the rows and the completeness with which the tip 
of the ear is filled out, but the yield per acre is not re- 
corded. The score card for poultry gives ten points each 
for comb, wings, and tail, but no credit is given for the 
number of eggs a bird has laid. 

Attempts in many cases have been made to use char- 
acters in the score card that may be indicative of yield. 
In corn, the filling out of the tip, the size of the ear, the 
size and compactness of the kernels, are all characters 
that influence the amount of food substance carried by 
an individual ear, but are not of necessity correlated with 
the yield per acre. In the experience of the Connecticut 
Experiment Station, poor .scoring strains of corn have 
been found to outyield better scoring strains in compar- 
ative test cultures. 

In poultry, probably less attempt is made to use char- 
acters in the score card indicative of yield than in most 
other economic breeds of animals or of plants, and the 
standards may be fictitious in tliat they are even directly 
opposed to the natural development of the animal. 

Most fancy points probably are indifferent so far as 
they directly influence the practice of breeding plants 
and animals for utility. The danger is that they tend to 
substitute a fictitious standard for real value, and there- 
by distract the aim of the breeder. In some cases, how- 
ever, the standards may be in direct opposition to utility. 

The presence of yellow pigment is a case in point. 
It has been conclusively demonstrated in the present bul- 
letin that visible yellow pigment in the breeds investi- 
gated is indicative of poor laying ability. Our investi- 
gations have shown however, that the yellower the beak 
and legs, the longer since the last egg was laid. 

The "Standard of Perfection", which controls the 
judges in the show room, demands yellow in the beak and 
legs of Leghorns and the American breeds. Other things 
being equal therefore, in preferring the bird with yellow 
beak and yellow legs, the poultry judge is preferring the 
poorer layers. In other words, production is penalized. 

As a specific contribution toward improving the 
"Standard of Perfection", we would suggest changes in 
the score card relating to pigmentation in breeds in which 
the amount of pigment is affected by laying. The present 
color standards are irrational in several respects. Let 
us consider the White Leghorns for example. 

The "Standard of Perfection" calls for white ear lobes 
and for yellow beak and legs in both sexes. Such a stand- 
ard is inconsistent. The white in ear lobes is opposed 
to the yellow in beak and legs. Moreover, while white 
in the lobes of the females may be indicative of laying, 
in males it certainly is not. It is a peculiarity of certain 
strains or is brought about by lack of vigor due to sick- 
ness or by other environmental factors. 

We suggest that male White Leghorns be required 
to show yellow in the ear lobes as well as in beak and 
legs. If males with pale lobes are used as breeders, 
strains are likely to be favored in which the ear lobes 
will be of little value in selecting layers. The ear lobes 
in males therefore, should show a high percentage of 
yellow. It would be possible to require the color to come 
up to any desired standard, — say at least 40 per cent 

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Courtesy of New Jersey Experiment Station. 



106 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



yellow as determined by the color top. It might seem 
fairer to competitors who have developed strains under 
the old standards, to place the requirements not too high 
at first, and raise them later. It is our belief however, 
that ultimately a high percentage of yellow in the ear 
lobes of male White Leghorns should be demanded by 
the score card. 

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TION AT \I.\ELAXD CONTEST 

In the female bird, decided yellow pigment is indica- 
tive of lack of laying activity within the recent past. A 
study of the preceding pages indicates that the ear lobes 
and vent are the first to change color in response to a 
change in the laying activity, that the beak is next, 
while the legs are the last of all to be affected. Futher- 
more, paling in visible yellow pigment may at times be 
brought about by other influences than laying. The 
presence of yellow pigment therefore, is more decisive 
than its absence. These facts should be taken into con- 
sideration in the showroom. A good-laying bird might 
not have lost the yellow from her legs early in the sea- 
son, although her vent and beak would be pale, while, 
toward the end of the laying year, yellow legs would be 
almost a sure sign of a poor layer. In most of the fall 
fairs and early poultry shows, pullets are exhibited be- 
fore they normally begin to lay. Such pullets one would 
expect to be abundantly supplied with yellow pigment. 
Pullets in early shows therefore, should not be judged 
in the same manner as the birds in the regular later 
shows, when a bird certainly should be penalized which 
is evidently a poor producer. 

The suggestion may appear drastic, but it would 
prove of great service to the poultry industry and ulti- 
mately to the poultry shows themselves, we believe, if 
during the laying season, any hen or pullet were dis- 
qualified from the showroom which did not show evidence 
of being in a laying condition. 



The foregoing article is presented for the serious 
consideration of breeders of Leghorns and all yellow- 
skinned fowls. If it should prove to be true that yellow 
skin and white ear lobes in Leghorns are definitely op- 



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FIG. 1«— NO ONE WHO LOOKS AT THIS TABLE CAN QUESTION 
THE SUPERIORITY OF STANDARD-BRED LEG- 
HORNS AS LAYERS 



posed to each other, then the Standard should and no 
doubt will be amended in this particular. It is just as 
well however, to bear in mind that the identification of 
characters that indicate laying ability, or the lack of it, 
is still a new and obviously incomplete -science, and the 
fancier can scarcely be blamed for feeling that, in view 
of the remarkable progress already made under the pres- 
ent Standard, changes in it should be made only after 
the need for them has been clearly demonstrated. 

The Fancier's Opportunity 

The wonderfully awakened interest in the poultry in- 
dustry in this country, and the great importance which 
is and should be attached to keeping only high-quality, 
bred-to-lay stock means that there is developing for the 
fancier a greater market than he has ever known before, — 
is making prospective purchasers of practically every 
farmer and commercial poultry keeper in tl.e country. 
One of the bugbears of the fancier has been the disposal 
of his medium-grade stock. There never is any question 
of his ability to place his exhibition specimens at good 
prices, but for the medium birds — those not good enough 
to win in hot competition or to use in select breeding pens, 
— he has a limited demand. The commercial poultry keeper 
and the farmer however, are not, as a rule, interested in 
exhibition birds, though they do want standard-bred fowls. 

No breeder can afford to be indifferent to the re- 
quirements of this 
trade. Instead, he 
will cater to it and 
will permit no un- 
necessary obstacles 
to be interposed. 
If his breed or 
variety does not 
quite measure up 
to the reasonable 
demands of com- 
mercial poultry 
keepers he will 
quickly see to it 
that their condi- 
tions are met, even 
if that involves a 
modification of 

present Standard 
values. Howeve •, 
those who consider 
the present sit- 
uation carefully 
will find that they 
need sacrifice noth- 
ing essential and 
with right breed- 
ing methods they 
certainly have it 
within their power 
to realize a volume 
of sales that in for- 
mer years was entirely out of the question. 

Summary 

Standard fowls are the foundation of a permanent 
poultry industry. 

Practically all high egg records have been made by 
standard-bred fowls. 

In the popular breeds, breeding for standard qualities 
has been in no way a handicap as regards capacity foregg 
production. 

.■\^t the Storrs Egg Laying Contest the production of 
the highest scoring pens regularly exceeded the average 
for all entries in the respective breeds, — further proof 
that show-room quality is not necessarily secured at the 
expense of productiveness. 

At the Vineland Contest correlation tables show that 
the best layers in all the popular breeds average high in 
exhibition quality. 

The requirements of the "Standard" as regards yel- 
low pigment need but little adjustment, if any, to meet 
all reasonable demands of the commercial poultry keeper. 




FIG. 



141-\VHITK WYANDOTTE 
RECORD OF 309 EGGS 



WITH 



This hen was one of a pen entered in the 
International Laying Contest. Is a good il- 
lustration of the fact that conformity to 
type in this breed is not necessarily a 
handicap in egg production. Courtesy of 
Conn. (Storrs) Experiment Station. 



C n A I'T E U X \ 1 

The Physiology of Egg Production 

Fowls May Have Great Capacity For Egg Production Without Making Exceptional Records Unless Conditions Generally 
Are Favorable Persons Who Are Culling Fowls and Poultry Keepers Who Are Trying to Secure 
Maximum Production Need to Understand Fowl Nutrition and the Physiology of Egg Pro- 
duction How the Fowl's Egg Organs Function Is Here Briefly Described, 
Also the Influence of Feed and Care Upon High Egg Production 




TTENTION has been called elsewhere to the 
fact that a fowl may have excellent egg-lay- 
ing capacity as determined by body measure- 
ments, heredity, etc., and yet prove quite in- 
ferior in actual performance unless the condi- 
tions under which she is kept, the methods employed in her 
care, the rations fed, etc., are such as will give her a 
chance to do her best in this respect. Speaking gener- 
ally, the number of eggs laid by any hen is simply the 
measure of her ability to produce UNDER EXISTING 
CONDITIONS. 

For this reason, the poultry keeper who is interested 
in securing maximum returns from his flock needs to 
understand pretty thoroughly the physiology of the fowl, 
at least in so far as it relates to egg production and to 
the digestion and assimilation of food upon which high 
egg records in so large measure depend. He needs to 
know what organs are involved in these operations, the 
manner in which they work, the circumstances under 
which they can best fulfill their natural functions and 
the conditions which the poultry keeper should provide 
in order to give the fowls the best possible chance to 
reach ma.ximum production. 

The influence of external conditions upon egg yield 
should receive especial emphasis in presenting the sub- 
ject of culling to the beginner, who is quit* prone to 
accept rules as hard and fixed, and to apply certain tests 
without taking other characters into consideration or 
without investigating the condition under which fowls 
have been kept. Without in any manner detracting from 
the practical value of culling methods the beginner 
should understand that he must take breeding, feeding, 
and general management into careful consideration if 
he would escape serious errors in classifying fowls with 
reference to their laying ability. 

Egg Organs of the Hen 

The ovary in an inactive state is a comparatively small 
organ resembling in appearance a dimunitive bunch of 
grapes. It is attached near the backbone of the fowl, 
just in front of the kidneys, and contains an indefinite 
number of undeveloped ova, which when they reach full 
development are known as yolks. The ova have been 
counted by different observers who have reported any- 
where from 2,500 to 4,000 as visible to the naked eye. 
In addition to those that may be so counted there prob- 
ably are many more that can only be counted by the use 
of a microscope. The number actually visible in the 
ovary of even the poorest layer however, is much greater 
than the number of eggs that any hen can possibly lay. 
hence there is no reason to believe that the number 



of ova present bears any direct relation to the hen's pro- 
ductiveness. 

The oviduct is the organ which receives the yolk when 
it reaches full size and escapes from its follicle, and in 
which the albumen and shell are deposited. In the non- 
laying hen the oviduct is extremely small, being only a 
few inches in length at most. In the active state 
it is from 18 to 24 inches long in which condition it oc- 
cupies a good deal of space — one reason why the abdom- 
inal capacity of a heavy layer must be large. The upper 
end of the oviduct, known as the funnel, is not directly 
attached to the ovary, but at the time when each yolk 
bursts from the follicle the funnel rises up so as partly 
to enclose it, thus to insure its entrance into the oviduct. 

Development of (he Egg 
After the yolk has dropped into the upper end of the 
oviduct it is gradually forced onward by peristaltic action. 
As the egg progresses spirally through the oviduct it 
accumulates successive layers of albumen until it reaches 
the isthmus where it receives the membraneous coating 
of soft shell. It then passes on to the uterus where the 
hard shell is deposited. It also receives in the neighbor- 
hood of 40 per cent of its total albumen at this point. Ac- 
cording to observers it takes in the neighborhood of 14 
days for the yolk to develop from its initial stage to full 
size, and for the formation of the egg after the yolk has 




KIG. 142-\VHV SOME HE.NS DO NOT L.W 

Illustration shows condition of egg organs of lien No. JUS, de- 
tails of whose past-niortein are given herewith — see page 108. 



108 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



entered the oviduct it is stated that 24 hours or more 
are required. 

The size and shape of eggs vary with individual fowls, 
and the commercial poultry keeper must give close at- 
tention to the character of the eggs produced, particularly 
with reference to quality. Size of egg and color of shell 




FIG. 143— PELVIC ORGANS OF L.WING HEN 

1 — Ovary and yolks in process of formation; 2— active oviduct 
laid at 3; 4 — tlic rectum; 5 — the liver; 6 — retroperitoneal storehouse 
in second edition of "Poultry Culture, Sanitation, and Hygiene". 



with egg ready to be 
for fat. After Kaupp, 



are but slightly under the poultryman's control though 
.size is noticeably affected by the rations fed, amount of 
water consumed, and the supply of shell material. The 
quality or flavor of the eggs is normally determined by 
what the fowl eats and drinks. 

The color of the egg yolk is affected in a marked 
measure by the rations fed, and as a bright yellow yolk 
is always desired, those who are catering to first-class 
markets must keep this point in mind. The color of the 
yolk is produced by the same pigment that makes yel- 
low skin, beak, and shanks, and if it is not present in the 
ration it cannot appear in the yolk. 

Abnormal eggs, meaning eggs abnormal in shape, 
size, and shell usually result from some unfavorable 
condition in the oviduct or from physical conditions af- 
fecting that organ. Fowls that are overfat or that are 
underexercised, (resulting in the weakening of the ab- 
dominal muscles) or that do not have an ample supplj-" 
underexercised (resulting in the weakening of the ab- 
normal eggs, particularly at the height of the laying 
season. At this time also blood clots are apt to be found 
ii. the eggs and various diseases of the egg organs may 
develop. The remedy in practically all of such cases 
is not medicinal treatment, but a correction of the ration 
and of the conditions under which the fowls are kept, 
which will set the organs to functioning in a normal 
manner. When this is done, ordinary derangements will 
correct themselves if not too acute or of too long stand- 
ing. 

Why Some Hens Do Not Lay 

The explanation of the manner in which the complete 
yolk enters the oviduct suggests how yolks may sometimes 



escape into the body cavity without entering that organ; 
also how it is possible for an egg, after being partly 
formed or perhaps even after receiving its shell, to make 
its way back up through the oviduct by a reversal of the 
peristaltic action and drop out at the upper end into the 
abdominal cavity. The yolks or partially formed eggs, 
after escaping into the body cavity 
may be walled off or encysted, and 
more or less completely reabsorbed, 
or their presence may cause acute in- 
flammation and death. 

Partially formed eggs may also es- 
cape into the abdominal cavity through 
a rupture of the walls of the oviduct, 
often without any serious consequenc- 
es so far as the general health of 
the fowl is concerned. A peculiar 
condition sometimes met with is il- 
lustrated in Fig. 142. The hen 
shown was entered in the Vineland 
Laying Contest but had only a sin- 
gle egg to her credit in six months. 
She was carefully examined by Dr. 
W. C. Thompson of the Poultry De- 
partment, New Jersey Experiment 
Station, and her condition described 
as follows: 

"S. C. W. Leghorn pullet No. 838 
showed every indication of being a 
good producer, with faded shanks, 
white ear lobes, whitish beak, and 
good development of comb, and ex- 
hibited other signs of being in full producing condition. 
Post-mortem examination was ordered and made. A 
large, round, hard mass of yellowish matter was found, 
about the size of a large orange and encased within a 
membraneous sac which was formed in the side-wall of 
the oviduct. Many yolks had been formed normally in 
the ovary and then passed into the oviduct where a small 
amount of albumen had been secreted and the whole mass 
pushed on into the sac instead of following the regular 
channel of egg formation. These had accumulated for 
some time and finally formed this tumor-like mass.' 

The Digestive Organs of the Fowl 

The fowl's ability to produce great numbers of eggs 
is quite largely conditioned upon her capacity for di- 
gesting and assimilating food. When it is remembered 
that a fowl laying 200 eggs in a year must reproduce her 
weight in egg substance in the neighborhood of five 
times during this period, it will be seen that the demand 
upon her digestive organs is great, and there must not 
only be room for storing large quantities of food at 
feeding time, but there must be rapid digestion to en- 
able her quickly to transform the crude nutrients in the 
ration into the highly complex compounds of which the 
egg is composed. While the fowl's digestive organs are 
naturally designed for the rapid assimilation of food, 
it has been found that where heavy production is sought, 
assistance must be given by having a large part of the 
ration finely ground and in that way partly prepared 
for digestion. 

The crop, which is the first organ of digestion, is a 
comparatively thin-walled sac, capable of great disten- 
sion and serving as a storehouse for food. It also ex- 



THE PHYSIOLOGY OF EGG PRODUCTION 



109 



cretes a mucus which moistens the food and probably 
has some digestive action. The food remains in the crop 
for a period of some hours, during which time it be- 
comes quite soft, and is then passed on to the stomach 
or proventriculus, a glandular organ secreting the gas- 
tric juice. The food then passes to the gizzard where 
it is reduced to a very fine condition, and is thoroughly 
acted upon by the digestive juices, after which it passes 
into the intestine. The first portion of this forms a loop 
in which lies the whitish-yellow pancreas, a gland which 
secretes another digestive juice. Bile from the liver 
also enters the intestine near the gizzard. Its part in 
the digestive process is more or less mechanical; that is, 
it emulsifies the fats and neutralizes the acidity of the 
food in solution as it enters the intestine. The liver itself 
is largely concerned with the absorption of food, in doing 
which it transforms certain compounds into more easily 
assimilated ones. In addition to the digestive juices 
already mentioned there are several others secreted by 
glands in the wall of the small intestine, each performing 
an essential part in the digestion of the food. 



This is not the place to go into a complete discussion 
of poultry feeds and feeding.. That is done in detail in 
a new book issued by Reliable Poultry Journal Publish- 
ing Company, entitled "How to Feed Poultry for Any 
Purpose With Profit", and to which the interested reader 
is referred for down-to-date information on this impor- 
tant subject. There are, however, some practical de- 
tails in regard to the subject that are so important to 
every one interested in increased egg production that 
they clearly should receive at least some attention in this 
chapter. Probably the most effective manner in which 
this can be done is to present the results of some obser- 
vations made at the Vineland Egg Laying and Breeding 
Contest where the rations of laying fowls have been 
very carefully studied. During the visit of one of the 
authors of this book to the Experiment Station at New 
Brunswick and to the contest plant, he interviewed Prof. 
H. R. Lewis, who kindly furnished the following infor- 
mation regarding the feeding methods in use there, and 
the results secured. 



Nutritive Requirements for Egg Production 

Herewith Is Presented a Most Instructive Interview With Prof. H. R. Lewis, Head of Poultry Department, New 
Jersey Experiment Station, Giving Valuable Data Based on Records of the Vineland Egg Laying 
and Breeding Contest, 1916-1917— Full Information Is Given Regarding Rations 
Used, Food Consumed, Cost of Production, Etc., Etc. 



Question — What rations were used at the First Vine- 
land Egg Laying Contest ? 

Special rations were evolved for the feeding work 
;'t the contest. The aim in evolving these rations was 
to secure simplicity and at the same time insure maxi- 
mum efficiency. Ihe basic grains, corn, wheat, oats, 
and their by-products were selected as the ingredients 
for the rations. The mash ration consisted of 100 
pounds of wheat bran, 100 pounds of wheat middlings, 
100 pounds of ground oats, 100 pounds of corn meal, 100 
pounds of meat scrap. This dry mash was kept before 
the birds in hoppers and was supplemented by a scratch 
grain ration consisting of equal parts of cracked corn, 
wheat, and oats. During extremely cold weather in the 
winter the corn in this scratch ration was doubled, giv- 
ing to the ration more heating properties. In addition 
to this mash and scratch ration, the birds were fed a con- 
siderable amount of succulence, and grit, shell, and char- 
coal were kept before them in hoppers constantly. Dur- 
ing the spring, summer, and fall they were allowed to 
run on alfalfa ranges. 

Question — Briefly, what was the method of feeding? 

The method of feeding was just as simple as it was 
possible to make it. The mash was kept before the birds 
constantly in hoppers, and the scratch grain mixture 
was fed to the flocks three times a day, morning, noon, 
and night in rather restricted quantities, and in such 
amounts as to insure the proper consumption of mash. 
No wet mash was fed, no tonics or panaceas of any 
kind were given. The object in feeding the grain in 
small quantities three times daily was to keep the birds 
active and hungry, and not allow them to fill their crops 
full at any one time with hard grains. Only a very small 
amount of scratch feed was fed morning and noon, the 
bulk of it being given at night. 



Question — Do you regard the mash ration as the egg- 
maker, so to speak? 

The nutritive ratio of the mash was 1:2.65 and the 
nutritive ratio of the grain was 1:7.7. When these are 
fed in about equal proportions a nutritive ratio for the 
daily diet of the flock of about liiVz to 5 is secured. 
Of course it is true that the bird uses both the mash 
and the grain ration in part from which to manufacture 
eggs, and in part to maintain her body weight and to 
provide heat and energy; yet when we appreciate the 
fact that one-third of the dry matter of an egg is pro- 
tein, one can readily appreciate the importance of pro- 
tein in the daily diet of a flock of layers, and it will 
be obvious that the mash mixture, due to the presence 
of 20 per cent of meat scrap, is essentially the egg- 
making part of the ration. Experiments conducted at 
the New Jersey Station show conclusively that maxi- 
mum egg production cannot be secured unless the flocks 
are compelled to eat large amounts of a well-balanced 
mash, containing at least 20 per cent of meat scrap. 

Question^ — In your opinion then, is there a good reason 
for the claim that the grain ration is used largely for 
the fowl's maintenance? 

This reasoning is largely correct from the fact that 
the grain ration is primarily composed of carbohydrates 
and fat, although there is, of course; considerable pro- 
tein present. Since maintenance requirements call for 
heat, energy, and reserve food supply, it is more eco- 
nomical and efficient to provide these maintenance re- 
quirements from the grain rations. 

Question — Were records kept showing what propor- 
tion of mash and what proportion of grain wa.= con- 
sumed? 

Recent feeding tests at the New Jersey Agricultural 
Experiment Station have brought out interesting results 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 




FIG 144— OVARY AND OVIDUCT OF GOOD AND POOR-LAYING HENS CONTRASTED 

This remarkable illustration shows, on the reader's left, the ovary and oviduct of the heavy-laying Rhode Island Red hen illustrated 
in Fig. 54, and on the right the egg organs from the poor-laying hen in Fig. 55 (see page 43). Both hens were actively laying, but 
the poor producer's ovary shows a much lower state of activity — shorter cycles with long periods between — and this is confirmed by 
the noticeably smaller size of the oviduct which suggests also that the hen has not been laying for so long a period as the one on the 
left. Piioto irom Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Station. 



THE PHYSIOLOGY OF EGG PRODUCTION 



111 



Amount of 


Scratch 


Grain 


to 


Feed 




Mon 


th in 


the 


Year 


Month I 


*ounds per 


Day 


Pounds f 




per 100 Birds 




A. M 


Novenib<.T 


12 








December 


12 








January 


12 








Fvbruarv 


12 








March 


12 








April 


12 








May 


10 








June 


10 








Julv 


8 






3 


August 


6 






2 


September 


o 






2 


October 


5 






2 



regarding the proper proportion of mash and grain to 
feed. Formerly it has been suggested that 2 parts of 
grain and 1 part of mash were about right. Feeding 
tests disclose the fact that the be.st results are secured, 
especially in late spring and summer, if the birds are 
restricted in their grain feed and compelled to eat 
greatly increased amounts of mash. Mash is 
the cheaper of the two mixtures, and its 
greater use tends to lower feeding costs. 
Mash also contains more protein, which is 
the egg-making material, hence its larger 
u.se tends to force greater production. The 
following table has been worked out showing 
the proper amount of grain to feed layers 
during each month. With this amount of 
grain they will naturally eat the remainder 
of their requirements in the form of mash 
which will insure the correct proportions be- 
tween the two. 

Layers Each 

>r Each Feeding 
P. M. 
8 
8 
8 
8 
S 
8 
6 
6 
5 
4 
3 
3 

The fact that at the Vineland Contest ap- 
proximately equal parts of mash and grain 
were consumed throughout the year i.s of 
special significance since it has been the gen- 
eral custom heretofore to recommend feeding 
twice as much grain as mash. Our practice 
not only insures sufficient protein material 
for egg production, but it also cheapens the 
ration, for the mash is generally cheaper 
than the scratch grain. In addition it may 
be stated that birds require slightly more 
grain than mash until they come into full 
laying condition; equal parts of mash and 
grain while laying heavily in the late win- 
ter and spring; considerably larger amounts of mash than 
grain during late summer and fall. 

Question — Are these proportions the same for hens 
as for pullets? 

Yes, the above proportions are approximately the 
same for hens as for pullets with the one exception that 
the feeder must use special care not to feed yearling 
hens in the fall and early winter as heavily of grain as 
is done with the pullets, for such practice would result 
in their taking on too much body weight, and therefore 
becoming too fat for egg production. 

In this connection it may be of interest to learn the 
relation which existed between grain and mash con- 
sumption and feed costs, also comparing the light and 
heavy breeds. These details are shown in the following 
table: 

Amount of Mash and Grain Consumed per Pen in Heavy and 
Light Breeds, and Cost of Feeding — Vineland Laying Contest 

No. of Mash CJrain Total Cost Hatio Cnt^t 

Birds Cons'd Cons'd Feed Feed of Mash per 10(1 

per Pen per Pen per Pen per Pen per P'-n to CIrain Birds 

Heavy breeds 400 4,i2.2 399.9 8.52.1 $24 , W 1.13:1 S243. 

Light breeds 600 3S7.2 375.9 7(13. 1 2190 1.1:1 219. 



It will be seen here that it cost $2.43 to feed each 
heavy-breed bird, and .'^2.19 to feed each light-breed bird 
of the Leghorn type. 

Question — Did the records show that the fowls con- 
sumed an increased amount of feed during the period 
of high egg production? 



Table 


Showing 


Relation 


Between 


Feed O 


onsumption 


and E 


gg Prod 


uction 


WFliK 


I'l.VMtJUTH 


\VV\N1)0TTE.S 


HIIODE 


I.Ed 


HOHN.S 




ROCKS 






I.SI.A.ND 


REDS 








Feed 


Eggs 


Feed 


KgES 


F 1 


Eggs 


Feed 


Eggs 




Consumed 


Laid 


Consumed 


Laid 


Consumed 


Laid 


Consume 


d Laid 


1 


227.9 


165 


189.3 


171 


111.6 


73 


0,30.4 


1046 


2 


243 . 


200 


209 6 


219 


101 2 


117 


021.9 


1532 


:( 


263.4 


213 


229.3 


2.31 


126 4 


141 


7.30.7 


L557 


4 


2.56.9 


228 


218.9 


280 


127.2 


130 


700.4 


1491 


.'■> 


264.4 


240 


224.8 


297 


128.0 


141 


772.1 


1545 


(i 


.305.5 


294 


258, S 


320 


128, 


149 


926.7 


1703 


7 


294.5 


318 


247.2 


.307 


137,8 


147 


882.3 


1483 


S 


284.4 


288 


241.4 


292 


12S,8 


157 


813.8 


1172 


9 


278.3 


338 


235 


299 


120.3 


153 


787.7 


1188 


10 


315.1 


371 


263.3 


314 


1.57.5 


169 


865.1 


1246 


11 


344.8 


382 


277.4 


314 


1.56. 


211 


920.8 


1407 


12 


.341.2 


406 


269 3 


372 


1.52.9 


220 


942. 


1316 


13 


323.6 


494 


256.8 


405 


148.4 


247 


906.3 


1456 


14 


327.7 


528 


264 . ! 


418 


148, 


278 


923.6 


1585 


13 


333.7 


363 


177.9 


422 


144 , 6 


279 


940.1 


1528 


16 ■ 


337.0 


630 


233 , 2 


475 


141,3 


216 


937.6 


1787 


17 


343.2 


717 


263, (i 


3(0 


143,9 


286 


9.S9.1 


2266 


18 


346.1 


746 


272.1 


563 


1.56,1 


307 


10.33.2 


2484 


19 


352.6 


791 


2S2 . 9 


KIN 


1.52,7 


318 


10.56.0 


2603 


20 


348.5 


822 


272,7 


0.|9 


151.9 


327 


1011.5 


2777 


21 


342.5 


823 


260.9 


698 


1,55.4 


352 


908.7 


2842 


22 


.320.2 


828 


206 , 2 


OSS 


140.1 


363 


1004.2 


2922 


23 


315.5 


809 


2t)0.(l 


674 


1.52.9 


373 


10.57.9 


2906 


24 


330.1 


8oe 


254 , 8 


631 


1.50.1 


362 


1030.7 


2919 


25 


323.5 


788 


260,7 


023 


1.54.7 


367 


10.55.9 


2939 


26 


320.0 


724 


2.59,3 


OOfI 


149.3 


33S 


1005.7 


2914 


27 


.309.1 


679 


242, 1 


.548 


133. :t 


319 


1019.8 


2794 


28 


338.2 


725 


254,2 


.547 


112.0 


274 


1068.6 


2769 


29 


301.3 


730 


230.3 


333 


124.0 


283 


925.8 


2828 


30 


311.0 


784 


243 . 


603 


1.38.4 


324 


10.54.6 


2871 


31 


2.S9.2 


739 


230 . 3 


.591 


138.7 


330 


943.4 


2898 


32 


296.8 


685 


2.33.9 


385 


132.5 


331 


981 3 


2906 


33 


277.2 


615 


20-1.1 


464 


110.8 


245 


904 . 7 


2748 


34 


253.4 


577 


180.5 


373 


109.0 


190 


900,8 


2719 


33 


224.7 


505 


1.38.2 


310 


95.3 


204 


801.2 


2550 


36 


228.1 


336 


170.6 


333 


103.0 


212 


8.86,6 


2512 


37 


248.8 


.530 


193.3 


370 


113.7 


220 


900.0 


2550 


38 


258.1 


553 


199.3 


474 


108 8 


231 


914.8 


2621 


39 


239.7 


.301 


192.9 


471 


99.0 


208 


.s.50.9 


2516 


40 


194.1 


34S 


175,9 


3.34 


98 . 4 


167 


.S02.0 


2209 


41 


2.33.5 


368 


199.3 


351 


120.0 


208 


S79 . 2 


2073 


42 


261.4 


435 


210,3 


431 


109.3 


223 


870.0 


2003 


43 


241.3 


417 


200,7 


388 


113.2 


196 


.HOO 


1937 


44 


243.7 


312 


190.8 


293 


117.5 


120 


777.4 


1.501 


45 


233.4 


282 


178.1 


221 


108.1 


141 


713.1 


1033 


46 


259.9 


326 


183.9 


238 


117,1 


157 


033 . 7 


SI 1 


47 


260.4 


369 


189,9 


256 


127.2 


183 


li33 9 


82.S 


48 


273.2 


385 


213. S 


287 


131.0 


190 


071.8 


S20 


49 


274.8 


396 


223.0 


321 


128.3 


222 


0S9 . 6 


74S 


30 


289.4 


336 


243.9 


303 


140.5 


205 


710.0 


047 


51 


289. G 


331 


230.8 


290 


110.6 


IS3 


725. 5 


504 


32 


380.8 


319 


299 . 9 
12031 . 


297 
21 (HI 


194.5 


190 


941.2 


537 


Total 1 


.3263.1 


2t)353 


0924.9 12047 


4.57U-3 


101832 


Aver. 


2«.i . 3 


3*)t;.S 


231.7 


116. 2 


133.2 


231.7 


.S79 . 1 


19.58.3 



Yes, the records show that feed consumption in- 
creased quite materially as egg production increased. 
In fact, we find a close correlation between the curves 
of egg production and the curves of feed consumption; 
the rise and fall in the curve of feed consumption being 
slightly ahead of the corresponding rise and fall in the 
curve of production. Birds in heavy-laying condition 
during the spring months will consume from 80 to 100 
per cent more feed than they will during the resting 
period. The accompanying table shows in a very in- 
teresting way this uniform relation which exists be- 
tween feed consumption and egg production. 

Question — How much feed is required to produce a 
dozen eggs in the case of the four breeds under considera- 
tion at the Vineland Contest? 

The Leghorns lead in efficiency, re<|uiring 5.4 lbs. to 
produce one dozen eggs; the Wyandottes next with (i.l2 
lbs.; Plymouth Rocks next with ().8,5 lbs.; and Rhode 
Island Reds next with (5.9 lbs. 



CHAPTERXVII 

Balancing the Flock, and Methods of Increasing Fall Production 

For Best Results the Laying Flock Should Be Properly Balanced as to Proportion of Pullets and Hens — Production in the 
Average Flock Generally Drops to a Low Level in the Fall — How This Can Be Prevented by Proper 
Handling of Hens and by Early Hatching of Pullets — With Leghorns a Practical Plan Is 
to Have a Flock of Extra-early Pullets to Begin Laying In August 




REASONABLY uniform production of eggs 
the year around is the poultry keeper's ideal, 
but as a rule he falls far short of achieving 
it. Beginning in late summer the egg yield 
of the average flock falls off rapidly and 
reaches an extremely low level during the fall and early 
winter months. Greater uniformity in production and 
better profits can be secured by properly balancing the 
flock. By this term is meant maintaining the correct 
proportion between the number of hens and of pullets, 
also having pullets of different ages. 

The production of hens in their second year is al- 
ways lower than in their first, speaking in averages, 
and they seldom begin laying until after the first of the 
year, so that the average price of their eggs is decidedly 
lower than that of early-hatched pullets. One-year-old 
hens, however, are much better for breeding purposes 
than pullets and their chief value to the poultry keeper, 
therefore, is in producing eggs for hatching. The fact 
that such hens do not begin laying until after the first 
of the year is no objection, — indeed, is an advantage, as 
it insures a supply of eggs for hatching from fowls that 
are just coming into laying after a long rest period and 
that are capable of transmitting the highest vigor and 
vitality of the embryos. 

Poultry keepers have long recognized the fact that 
their only chance for keeping up the production of the 
flock and securing a goodly number of eggs during the 
high-price months is to have a large percentage of early- 
hatched pullets, meaning by this, pullets that will come 
into laying during October, as a general average. There 
are practical reasons however, why the proportion of 
such pullets in the flock usually is comparatively low, 
and it is something of a problem for the average poul- 
try keeper to determine how many he should try to raise 
and when these should be hatched, to maintain just the 
right balance between hens and pullets. 

In a survey of 150 poultry farms, reported in Bulle- 
tin 329 of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment 
Station, the correct proportion of hens and pullets in 
the flock, as determined by actual experience, has re- 
ceived careful attention and the conclusions reached are 
set forth in the following extracts from that publication: 

"Poultrymen usually recommend that the major por- 
tion of the flock be made up of pullets in order to have 
the most profitable producers. The hen lays a larger 
number of eggs the first year of her life than the sec- 
ond, and a larger number the second year than the third, 
decreasing the number each year as she grows older. 
The poultrymen of the farms included in this survey 
keep a portion of the flock as yearlings and the remain- 
der as pullets. The best pullets are kept the second 
year as yearlings and the inferior ones sold. Those sold 
are selected according to the best judgment of the oper- 
ator, who tries to pick the poorest layers. 



"By dividing these flocks according to the proportion 
of pullets and yearlings, the advantage or disadvantage 
of keeping a large proportion of yearlings in the laying 
flock should be shown. In a number of tables (neces- 
sarily omitted from this chapter owing to lack of space- — 
Ed.) it is made plain that the poultrymen whose flocks 
have 50 to 70 per cent of their number in pullets obtain 
greater total receipts per flock and per hen than any 
other class. They also receive the highest number of 
• eggs per hen, except in the class having 80 to 90 per 
cent of their flock in pullets. A well-balanced flock 
must carry 30 to 50 per cent of yearlings to produce 
eggs for hatching, otherwise the poultryman will need 
to buy his eggs for hatching. This proportion allows 
the development of a flock with good vitality, and with 
enough old hens to give it stability. The average pro- 
portion of pullets on these farms was 61 per cent. They 
have just about the right proportion on the average." 

Better Fall Production From Hens 

With more attention to the subject, even the one 
and two-year old hens can be handled so as to get more 
eggs from them during the fall months, doing this by 
giving them a needed rest in early summer before there 
is any tendency to molt, and pushing them for eggs till 
they stop for the molt in the fall. If this is properly 
done the molt can be delayed for several weeks in the 
fall and the laying period correspondingly prolonged. 
We have a good deal yet to learn about the molt, but in 
the case of persistent layers at least, production appar- 
ently governs it to a great extent, so that in the words 




FIG. 14.=— .\ FEBRUARY-HATCHED LEGHORN PULLET LAY- 
ING AT AGE OF 129 DAYS 

This pullet was hatched February 25th, and laid her first 
egg July 4th — just 129 days after hatching. Such pullets should 
produce' a large number of eggs in late summer and early fall 
before going into molt. Photo from University of Missouri. 



BALANCING THE FLOCK. AND METHOD S OF INCREASING FALL PRODUCTION 



113 



of Professor Lewis of the New Jersey Experiment Sta- 
tion, "We used to say that our hens are molting, so they 
have stopped laying; now we say our hens have stopped 
laying, and so they are molting.'' 

The idea of a few years ago that the poultry keeper 
should try to secure an early molt in the hope that it 
would be followed by good fall and early winter pro- 
duction has given away to the more practical plan of 
securing the greatest possible production before the 
birds stop laying for the molt. It is not to be expected 
that hens will produce eggs throughout the entire season 
without a rest; only the most persistent layers in the 
flock will do that. But if the poultry keeper watches 
the performance of his fowls carefully and at the pro- 
per time in early summer allows them to drop off in 
production for a time, by making judicious changes in 
the ration, and then after a few weeks brings them back 
gradually, he will find that he can "carry over" a good 
many summer eggs into the fall. 

It is believed by many that special attention to the 
exercise of hens in the fall assists greatly in postpon- 
ing the molt and securing increased production at 
this time. Mr. R. S. Moseley of Sunny Crest Farm, 
New York, states: "To retard molting in case it starts 
earlier in the season than you think is natural or neces- 
sary, increase the litter to practically a foot deep and 
every time you go through the pens sprinkle a little 
hard grain in the litter. We have 
found that more exercise on the part 
of our layers induces a hardening 
of the feathers and if the birds are 
treated in this way they will post- 
pone molting, at least in many cases, 
and go on laying. 

Another method that aids great- 
ly in increasing fall production of 
hens is the use of artificial light. 
Evidence has been heaped up to show- 
that "lights" do, without question, in- 
' crease egg production, not only in 
pullets but also in hens. For exam- 
ple, at Cornell University it was 
found that where unlighted pens of 
hens gave a production of only 4 per 
cent in October, hens under lights 
reached 27.2 per cent in the same 
month and on the same rations. 

Culling to Keep Up Percentage of Egg Yield 

Many progressive poultry keepers are maintaining 
the percentage production of their hens at a high point 
by persistent culling. Experience has shown that in the 
summertime an average production of less than 50 per 
cent means that some of the hens in the flock are not 
laying at all. It is the opinion of Prof. Lewis of New 
Jersey Experiment Station that where the production 
of the flock is under 50 per cent, the number of idle 
hens will be found to approximate two per cent for each 
point below. In other words, if the production of the 
flock is only 40 per cent, 20 per cent of the hens are 
nonproductive. Keeping production around 50 per cent, 
of course, accomplishes nothing in the way of securing 
uniform production; it simply reduces the size of the 
flock and keeps do\vn the cost of production- — a prac- 
tical step of much importance to every egg producer. 



What Can Be Done With Early-Hatched Pullets 

Every poultry keeper realizes the advantage of hav- 
ing early-hatched pullets, meaning those that reach ma- 
turity and begin laying during the month of October 
as a general average. It is such pullets as these that 
produce by far the greater proportion of eggs secured 
during the fall and early winter months. 

With many it has become something of an art to 
decide at just what time to hatch their pullets so that 
they will come to maturity early in the fall and keep lay- 
ing constantly thereafter, but avoiding the well-known 
danger of having them come in too early, in which case 
they are almost certain to go into a molt after laying 
a month or two, after which they will lay few eggs until 
the winter is practically over. 

Delaying the maturity of eaily pullets that are com- 
ing in a little too late for profitable summer production 
and too early for continuous winter production, are 
measures that the careful poultry keeper resorts to when 
occasion requires. This may be done by shifting the 
pullets frequently to new quarters, supplying bulky 
feeds, using only limited amounts of animal matter, 
grains rich in oil, etc. In doing this, however, avoid ex- 
treme measures, which may cause injury to the fowls and 
result in loss rather than gain. 

There is another method of securing increased fall 
production which in recent years has come rapidly 




I'lG. 146— .\RriFICI.\LLV I.ir.HTED L,\V1.\G HOUSES ON BROAD ACRES FARM 

The above illustration shows arrangement of houses at Broad Acres Farm, Connecti- 
cvit. The 20x30-{t. laying houses are so located that a single fence makes a double yarding 
system possible. The hens range in one large flock either on the east or the west side 
of the row of houses. During the season of lighting a single lantern was used in each of 
these houses, and egg production largely increased. The use of "lights" is an important 
aid to securing increased fall and winter egg production. Photo from Prof. Roy E. Jones. 

into prominence as a practical measure: This is the 
plan of bringing out some extra-early pullets which will 
begin laying in late summer. It is most commonly 
practiced by Leghorn breeders, since these quick-growing 
pullets are particularly well adapted to this method. 
Practically all such pullets will molt in the fall, but if 
they are hatched early enough so that good production 
can be secured before they go into the molt they may 
be utilized to excellent advantage. 

The value of February-hatched Leghorn pullets is 
set forth in "Hints to Poultrymen", Vol. IV, No. 4, a 
monthly publication of the New Jersey Experiment 
Station, in an article by E. H. Wene. Extracts from this 
article are given herewith including a table showing the 
production of a flock of 190 February-hatched Leghorns 
at the New Jersey Experiment Station, including not 
only their production, but the profits realized. 



114 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



"February hatching has not been earned on to a great 
extent in the past, possibly because of the fact that 
market eggs sell for such a high price at that time that 
the poultrymen have not considered early hatching pro- 



lOTAl TOKELT PSODOCnoH OF TlOCl, iUU. Zt W Me. »1, X»16 
— aacB Atal 



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27-2 


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riG. h;— EGG 



PRODUCTION AT 
roULTRV 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 
PLANT— FALL OF 1916 



This grapli and the one shown in F'ig. 148 should be studied ii 
by Prof. Graham. Above graph sliows the production of pullets 
flock where no effort was made to "balance", thus resulting in tlu 
flnction during the early fall months. Tq show how balancing the 
of production at this season, see Fig. 148. 

fitable. The fertility is apt to run lower during the 
winter months, a fact which also would tend to discour- 
age the practice. Although there are, therefore, one 
or two disadvantages in early hatching there are a num- 
ber of important ways by which it can be made of great 
help to the poultryman. It is our firm belief that the 
farmer can plan to have from one-quarter to one-third 
of his chicks hatched during February. This would 
give him plenty of time to care for them before the 
rush of the spring work. Also, by early hatching it is 
possible for the poultryman to get a greater supply of 
hatching eggs during the following spring from his 
February-hatched birds, for such birds make the best 
possible breeders by the next April, being yearlings in 
fact in that they are over one year old and have molted. 
"By the middle of July, the February-hatched pullets 



should be moved to their laying houses, as they will be 
producing a few eggs by this time, and during the months 
of September, October, and November, if the pullets have 
been properly reared and well fed, a good supply of eggs 
may be expected. Special care should 
be given to their feeding. In the 
morning the pullets are fed equal 
parts of wheat and oats scattered in 
deep litter, feeding about one pound 
to twenty birds. Special care should 
be used to see that the litter is kept 
dry, deep, and coarse. In the after- 
noon scratch grains are fed, the mix- 
ture consisting of one part of oats, 
one part of wheat, two parts of 
cracked corn. About one pound to 
every ten birds should be fed. In ad- 
dition to these standard grain rations 
the regular winter laying mash is fed 
in large open hoppers. This ma.sh 
consists of: 

2 parts wheat bran, 2 parts wheat 
middlings, 1 part gluten meal, 1 part 
com meal, 1 part ground oats, 1 part 
alfalfa meal, 2 parts meat scrap. 

"In addition to the grain rations 
mentioned, a constant supply of clean, 
fresh water .should be kept before the 
birds all of the time. Sour skim milk 
is also a valuable addition to the feed- 
ing ration if it can be bought at a 
reasonable figure. From 25 to 50 
cents for a 40-quart can is a fair 
price. 

"Accompanying table gives results 
obtained from a pen of 190 Single 
Comb White Leghorn pullets hatched 
on February 9, 1914. These pullets 
were placed in a New Jersey Multiple 
Unit Laying House the last of July. 
They began laying soon after being 
placed in permanent quarters, and 
continued to lay a good number of 
eggs except during the molt which 
took place in November, December, and January. The 
number of eggs laid during the year, the per cent produc- 
tion, the value of the eggs, the amount of feed consumed, 
and the profit are shown here as the proof of their work." 
The value of a flock of extra-early pullets in helping lo 
secure uniformity in annual production is also explained in 
the following article: 



I connection with article 
and hens in the college 
usual low level of pro- 
flock raises the average 



Record of Eggs Laid in 12 Months by a 







Pullets, and Cost of Prodi. 


ction 






Number 


Per Cent 


Total Cost 


Value 


Profit 


Month 


of Eggs 


Production 


of Food 


ot Eggs 


or Loss 


mu 












Avigust 


124.5 


21.1 


$17.43 


S39.42 


$21.99 profit 


September 


1756 


29.6 


17.23 • 


57.07 


39.84 profit 


October 


1934 


32.9 


14.51 


79.78 


65.27 profit 


November 


593 


l.I 


15.58 


29.11 


13.53 profit 


December 


132 


0.2 


16.75 


G.38 


10.37 loss 


191.5 












Janu.irv 


S47 


1.4 


24 . 51 


32.47 


7.96 profit 


February 


21.55 


40.0 


20.99 


62.85 


41.85 profit 


March 


4014 


68. 


27.50 


83.62 


56.15 profit 


April 


3984 


68.0 


27. 84 


79.68 


51.83 profit 


May 


3619 


61.1 


28 50 


72.48 


43.98 profit 


Juno 


2927 


51.4 


28 75 


64.48 


39.78 profit 


.luly 


3029 


52.0 


21.94 


71 96 


50 02 profit 



26280 



Keeping Egg Production at a High Level 
During Fall Months 

In Leghorn Flocks It Is Recommended That One-third of 

the Pullets Raised Each Year Be Hatched the Last of 

February so as to Have Them Laying in August 

By PROF. J. C. GRAHAM* 

I WILL not take time to tell how this subject came to 
our attention as a vital factor in poultry farming, but 
suffice it to say that observations on our early-hatch- 
ed pullets (those hatched by the winter-course students 
the last week in February) proved that they 
Flock of 190 February-hatched Leghorn Were not Only our most profitable ones but that 

their production filled that great gap between 
September 15th and November 16th caused by 
the sudden falling off of the eggs from hens 
and the lack of maturity on the part of the pul- 
lets hatched during the customary period. In 
other words, the necessity for early-hatched 
pullets to meet college requirements accidental- 
ly demonstrated, in part, how to meet this great 
need, long felt by specialty poultry farmers. 
These observations have enabled us to arrange 
a series of hatching dates, coupled with the 
number of pullets in each lot, to bring the pul- 
lets to production during the two months men- 
$257.53 $679. 30 $421.83 tioned above, to vidthin about 70 per cent or 75 



BALANCING THE FLOCK. AND METHODS OF INCREASING FALL PRODUCTION 



115 



per cent of the normal production in August. We believe 
that production under thi.s plan can be raised still higher 
at that period of the year but the number of early pullets 
would be abnormally high. To get the maximum results, 
the hens must be kept laying at as high a rate as possible 
until well into November or December, so we found that 
putting this plan into operation on a college and experi- 
mental plant required the solution of many intricate prob- 
lems. We discovered very early in the demonstration 
that the hens could not be transferred very much later 
than August 1st without a serious drop in production and 
a poor come-back; that after the pullets had begun to 
lay fairly well, a removal or transfer 
would result in a serious drop, this 
being especially true with the early- 
hatched ones. To allow an early 
transfer of the hens from the regular 
laying house and to do away with dis- 
turbance by a second or third transfer 
of the pullets, open growing sheds 
were built in the rear of the 
yard of the winter quarters, to 
which the hens were transferred 
during the month of July. The 
first year they were transferred 
to these sheds when broody, and after 
they were broken up production was 
resumed with only a normal loss of 
time due to broodiness. The last two 
years they have been transferred en 
masse during June or July. The first 
of these two years the drop in produc- 
tion was slight, but the past season 
the reduction due to the transfer was 
marked, but only for about ten days. 
Our conclusion in regard to the re- 
moval is that, with the broody races, 
it is better to make the transfer dur- 
ing the broody period unless the birds 
can be moved without serious disturb- 
ance. They continue production in 
these sheds well into November. Of 
course, judicious culling does away 
with a large portion of the hens so 
that two complete flocks are not kept 
at the same time. After the transfer 
the houses are thoroughly cleaned and 
ready for the pullets about the first 
of August when the early-hatched 
ones are brought in, and the medium 
and later-hatched ones are placed in 
winter quarters when they begin to 
show signs of maturity; but we plan 

to have them all in by the last of October or slightly ear- 
lier if possible, .^s can readily be seen, this plan en- 
ables us to have, at this particular season of the year, a 
double flock, so to speak, which, overlapping in produc- 
tion, holds the egg production near the desired level. 

Some flocks of early-hatched pullets molt, but the 
manner in which they do this varies greatly. Some lots 
will go through almost a complete molt, and egg produc- 
tion will nearly cease, while other flocks will molt very 
slowly and give a production of something like 25 per 
cent or 30 per cent during the molting period. We have 
found that by hatching out about one-third of the pullets 
the last of February or the first of March, another third 
from three to four weeks later, and the last third from 
three to four weeks following the second lot, the second 
and third lots will begin production somewhat in advance 
of the slackening of the first lot and the almost ceasing of 
the hens. Of course the dates for hatching depend large- 
ly upon the age at which the pullets may be expected to 
come to laying maturity, .'^gain, the rate at which the 
hens keep up production in the fall is another factor that 
must be considered. At present writing, our demonstra- 
tion is closing the third period with most satisfying re- 
sults. We herewith present two charts (see Figs. 147 



and 148), the first showing the production of the entire 
college and experimental flocks at our poultry plant for 
the fall of lillC, and the second for that of 1917. 

Urpriiitfd from Journal of American Association of Instructors ami 
Investigators in Poultry Husbandry. Vol. V. No. 4. 

Summary 

Uniform production the year around is desirable but 

this ideal can only be partially realized in practice. 

Early-hatched pullets are essentia! to good production 
in fall and earlv-winter months. 



TOTAL WEEKLir PRODncTIOH OP FLOCK. AOG. 27 TO DEC. 31. 
Pulleta Hens Total 



17-2 


s 


eptember 
9-16 -16-22 25-29 30-« 



7-13 


t 
14-20 


b e 
21-27 


r 

28-4 


H 

5-U 


T e tr 
12-lB 


19-U 


r 

26-2 


D > 
S-9 


e 
10-16 


m b e 

17-23 


r 

24-31 


4000 










































































































r 




































1 






































S600 


































/ J 


































/ 


/ 




































/ 


o 
































\/ 




c 
































/ 




klOOO 






^ 


























/ 










■~-- 


^ 






















' y 






u 




• 




















,■ 


— 


~-^ 


/ 








--- 






\ 


















,^ 








fit 








\ 
















/ / 


















\ 














-r' 


/ 
























\ 






/ 







/ 












eo 




-- — 


V 












y 






/ 
















■n 






■ , 










,^ 






















^ 






\ 


, 




















"t<x» 








\ 






X 


/ 




/ 
























s 






^. 


/ 




/ 
























\ 










/ 


















o 








\ 










/ 




























\ 








/ 


















•^JiOO 










\ 






/ 






























\ 






y 




















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/ 




















a 












\ 




' 
































\^ 
























qlOOO 












Y^^ 


































^ 


\ 


































-^ 




s 






















m 








.^ 






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,00-^ 








— ___ 




















**»00 




^ 












' 


^ 
















o' ^ 


. 


X^ 












\, 
















** 


,/^ 














s 


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_ — -• 
























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00 






















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FIG. 



148— EGG PRODUCTION AT MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTtJRAL COLLEGE 
POULTRY PLANT, FALL OF 1917, WITH BALANCED FLOCK 



The production lines cross during the early part of October, but the total production 
for hens and pullets is decidedly above that of previous year (see Fig. 147). .lue to the 
presence of a flock of February-hatched pullets. These, if properly grown, can be de- 
pended upon to l>ring up the egg production during Septemfier and' October when hens 
are falling off. I'rof. Graham states that the results during the fall of 1>M.«. were very 
•similar to those of 1916 and 1917. 



.A well-balanced flock requires .SO to 50 per cent of 
yearling hens. 

The flocks of the New Jersey commercial poultry 
farmers contain 50 to 70 per cent of pullets on the aver- 
age. 

Too large a proportion of pullets results in increas- 
ing cost of production. 

Better fall production can be secured with yearling 
hens, with proper management. 

Hens may be made to molt later in the fall by giving 
special attention to exercise for them. 

The use of artificial light produces a marked increase 
in fall egg production. 

The summer egg yield of hens can be kept up to 50 
per cent by systematic culling. 

E.xtra-early-hatched pullets ma.v be made a profitable 
source of supply for summer and fall eggs. 

Extra-early pullets may be profitably used to pro- 
vide eggs for hatching for the following spring. 

Extra-early hatching enables the poultry keeper to 
lengthen his hatching season, thus modifying the usual 
spring rush and getting double service from the hatch- 
ing and brooding equipment. 



CHAPTER X \ I I I 

A Demonstration in Culling the Poultry Flock 

One of the Most Popular Educational Practices Introduced by College Extension Workers Is the Culling Demonstration 
Poultry Keepers Everywhere Take Great Interest in Watching the Work — How One Well-known 
Extension Poultry Specialist Conducts Such a Demonstration and Teaches 
Mis Hearers to Apply the Methods to Their Own Flocks 




OTHER new development in poultry keeping 
has ever met the immediate popular approval 
that has been accorded to culling. This has been 
due in part to the comparative simplicity of the 
method and the .startling results secured, but 
chiefly, no doubt, to the fact that the methods lend 
themselves so readily to practical demonstrations. Great 
numbers of extension workers on agricultural col- 
lege and experiment station staffs have enthusiastically 
taken up the work of introducing the practice in their 
respective states, and almost uniformly with good results. 
Culling campaigns have profited largely by the fact that 
in the last few years the educational work in poultry hus- 
bandry has been unusually well organized and manned. 
Almost every state has one, and many have several work- 
ers who devote their entire time to poultry extension, and 
by cooperating with the county farm bureaus these agri- 
cultural advisers have been able to interest great numbers 
and to make their culling demonstrations unusually ef- 
fective. 

Every demonstrator has his own methods of interest- 
ing the public, of getting the attention of those who at- 
tend the school or demonstration, of enlisting their sup- 
port, and of getting them enthused to the point where 
they will go home and apply what they have learned to 
the culling of their own flocks. Usually demonstrations 
are arranged through the county agent, who is in a posi- 
tion to determine where they can be held to best advan- 
tage, and to arrange the necessary details so that the 
demonstrator can do the work without loss of time, 

and thus is able to cover 

more territory than would 
otherwise be possible. 

While attending the 
Judging School at Cornell 
University in July, 1919, 
the authors of this book ar- 
ranged with W. G. Krum, 
extension instructor in the 
Poultry Department of that 
institution, to give a demon- 
stration for the express 
purpose of illustrating the 
Cornell method of carrying 
on this work. Cornell Uni- 
versity has been a leader 
in the development of cull- 
ing methods and in getting 
these before the public. Mr. 
Krum, who has been with 
the department for many 
years and knows the laying 
hen as do few other men in 
this country, has been high- 



ly successful in this line of work. Following, Mr. Krum 
tells in his own words how he organizes a demonstration, 
how he gets the interest and sympathy of his hearers, 
how he illustrates methods and shows how to apply them 
practically. In the course of this demonstration many 
valuable hints are given in regard to detecting layers 
and nonlayers, in determining the length of time that 
the bird may have been laying or resting, also of es- 
timating her probable production. Every person who has 
occasion to demonstrate culling methods we believe will 
find much that will be helpful in this interview. 

A Culling Demonstration 

Method of Conducting a Culling Demonstration Fully 

Outlined Numerous Helpful Comments on 

Scoring Special Types of Fowls 

Demonstration by W. G. Krum, Extension Instructor, 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



D 




I'lG. 149— \V. G. KRUM, EXTENSION INSTRUCTOR. CORNELL 

UNIVERSITY, GIVING A FARM DEMONSTRATION 

IN CULLING 



EMONSTRATIONS in selection are arranged 
through the farm bureau managers who look after 
publicity, arrangement of the place, provide stock 
to be used and have it housed previous to the meeting. 
Demonstrations usually are at some farm and, if the farm- 
er has only one variety, arrangements frequently are 
made to have the neighbors bring in others. 

At the beginning of the demonstration I usually use a 
chart showing the difference in egg production between 

a good and a poor pen, and 
the money value of their 
product. Then I select from 
the birds as many differ- 
ent types as I can find, — 
all the way from hens that 
have not laid in several 
months to hens that are 
laying practically every 
day. These are passed 
around to the audience and, 
without any instruction 
whatever as to their laying 
quality, the persons holding 
them are asked to form in 
two lines or groups, those 
who have birds that they 
consider laying, standing 
on one side, and those who 
think their birds are not 
laying, on the other. Then 
I pass down the line and 
pick out a few of the birds 
that are in the wrong place 
and explain what the hens 



A DEMONSTRATION IN CULLING THE POULTRY FLOCK 



117 



are or are not doing. This usually creates considerable 
amusement and in that way you get the full attention of 
the audience. Then I pick out the various types of 
birds, usually beginning with the poor layer, and point 
out to the audience all the various points indicating their 
rank as producers. 

Hen No. 1 

(At this point Mr. Krum took up a Leghorn hen that 
had been brought in from the college flock and proceeded 
to apply culling tests with running comments as made 
under regular demonstration conditions. — Ed.) This 
Leghorn is not laying at the present time as indicated 
by a dry, puckered-up vent that shows a large amount 
of yellow pigment. This also is noticeable about the 
edge of the eyelid or eye ring. She has yellow ear 
lobes, which would indicate that she has not laid for a 
week or more. Her beak is entirely yellow and as it 
takes four to six weeks for all of the yellow to come 
back into the beak after it has been laid out, 
it is an indication that she has not laid for 
that length of time. Finally, she has round, 
plump, bright yellow shanks which indicate 
that she never laid very many eggs. 

With reference to the foregoing state- 
ment it should be remembered that this hen 
is being scored early in July. Plump yellow 
shanks on a hen scored in September or 
October would not necessarily mean that she 
had never laid many eggs but that, though 
she might have been a good spring layer, she 
had been idle for a long time. In July, how- 
ever, a hen with plump yellow shanks could 
scarcely have been very productive, even in 
the spring. 

This hen is just beginning to molt a few 
neck feathers but if .she was a good layei 
she should still be laying and growing a few 
pin feathers at the same time. A good lay- 
er usually shows a few pin feathers in the 
neck about four to six weeks before she goes 
into the regular molt. The indications are 
that this hen has always been a poor layer. 

Hen No. 2 

Hen No. 2 is not laying at the present 
time although she has laid within a week be- 
cause only a little color shows at the vent. 
Pigment coming in around the vent usually 
shows first right along the edge where the 
feathers begin to show. 

This hen has laid enough eggs to take all 
the color out of her beak, but she has va- 
cationed long enough to put some of it back. 
It goes out first at the corner of the mouth because of 
the high circulation of blood at that point and gradually 
keeps fading out, leaving tlie lovv-er mandible first and 
finally the extreme tip of the upper beak. It comes back 
in the same order and inasmuch as this hen shows about 
one-fourth of her beak yellow, it would indicate that she 
has already had a good vacation. Notice that this hen 
is very white naturally, having an almost pure white 
quill. Allowance must be made for this in applying pig- 
mentation tests. 

Under some conditions, with birds normally well pig- 
mented, and on farm range where the yellow color comes 
in much more quickly than in the case of hens kept in 
confinement, a beak with this amount of yellow might 
indicate only a two weeks' vacation, or less, whereas 
this bird's wing molt indicates that she has not laid for 
probably eight weeks. 

The primary wing feathers beginning next to the 
secondaries are molted usually in pairs, one in each wing, 
the pairs dropping about two weeks apart. A complete 
feather grows in in six weeks and in two weeks more 
another one finishes its growth This hen has two com- 
plete primaries and four grovring. This would indicate 
that she has beem^rowing feathers for eight weeks. Her 
body is full of pin feathers and the old feathers are 



loose, which means that she is through laying for this 
season and is going through a complete molt. All these 
are indications pointing to the fact that this hen proba- 
bly stopped laying to molt about the middle of May and 
hence has not likely laid more' than 50 to 7.5 eggs. 

The comb is small and cocked up in the rear — the 
type of comb that usually goes with poor layers. The 
eye is small and surrounded by a puckered eyelid so 
that none of the membrane surrounding the eye is vis- 
ible, in fact some of the eyeball is not visible, being 
partially covered with the puckered eyelid. Hens with 
this type of eye usually lay only from 5 to 10 eggs a 
month at their best 

The pelvic bones are quite close together and covered 
with thick layers of fat. 'This hen's back and breast lines 
are not parallel, being much closer together at the rear 
of the keel than at the front, showing a lack of capacity 
for digestion of food. The skin of this bird is very coarse. 




FIG. 150— TESTING A HEN FOK RECENT EGG PRODUCTION 



With the 
ttic L-Sf;ilie ot 



fingers spreari on either side of vent, a sliglit pressure will cause 
watery fluid if lieu lias laid williin p.ist J-1 hours or so. 

Good layers, like good milch cows, have a thin, pliable 
skin. This hen's is tough, hard, and leathery. 

Hen No. 3 

Hen No. 3 is laying at the present time as indicated 
liy her large moist vent. She is in good health and in a 
laxative condition, so that by pressing lightly on each 
side of the vent with the first and second fingers a wat- 
ery discharge comes from the vent — a certain indication 
that she has laid within the last 24 hours. 

This hen's ear lobes are pure white, which indicates 
that she has been laying more than a week. Absolutely 
no color in beak, which shows she has been laying for at 
least two months, and the shanks have lost almost all 
of their color and are thin and wedge-shaped, the sharp 
point of the w^edge being at the rear. While the hen is 
plump and full there is no fat left in her shanks, which 
indicates she has laid very heavily. This hen has the 
comb that is known as the rocker comb, showing a ten- 
dency to follow the neck. The points are tapered, wide 
at the base, and wedge-shaped. 

The comb and face are very bright, indicating that 
she is not laying very heavily at the present time, — 
possibly every other day. A bright comb is an indica- 
tion of good health and laying condition rather than the 



18 



PROFITABLE CULLING AND SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING 



lumber of eggs the hen produces. When a hen is pro- 
ducing heavily, her comb will be full and waxy and 
almost as shiny as a doorknob. After laying heavily 
for several weeks however, the comb loses some of its 
color, as also does the face, and she is pale. 

This hen has very good eyes. They are more nearly 
parallel in the head than in hen No. 2, whose eyes have 
a tendency to sink in at the corner. The position of 
the eyes is observed by holding the fowl so as to get a 
direct front view of the head. The eyelids are drawn 
back by high nerve tension and show quite a good deal 
of the membrane in the corner of the eye. 

This hen's abdomen is full and soft. The pelvic 
bones are four fingers wide in a 4% -pound Leghorn. 
The width between the pelvic bone and the breastbone 
or the keel is five fingers and the body is wider at the 
rear than at the front, and the keel is long. A long 
keel indicates capacity for laying. The pelvic bones have 
practically no fat on them and are very pliable. This 
hen, while still laying, has an occasional pin feather 
started in her neck which would indicate that she, unlike 
the other hen that has already quit, will probably con- 
tinue to lay for six weeks or more. 

The time at which the rest period begins, with ref- 
erence to the molt, will vary with different hens. In 
a good layer, production will stop as soon as she starts 
shedding wing feathers. This hen has already dropped 
two pairs of feathers earlier in the season, indicating 
that she took a month's vacation. 

Hen No. 4 

Hen No. 4 is laying, as indicated by the same char- 
;icters that we noted in hen No. 3, but her comb is swol- 
len to the limit ai.i! is waxy and shiny, indicating that 
she is laying practically I'very day. She has a pale face 
and slightly pale coml'. 

Bear in mind that the swollen comb of the he;ivy 
layer is not necessarily bright red. Th«; enlarged con- 
dition apparently is r.cit due to the comb being engorged 
with blood but may be due to expansior: of the cells. 
The comb at this tiii.e usually feels cold, because I'le 
blood is being use,! for ;he production .of eggs and is 
drawn toward the reproductive organs rather than to 
the comb. 

This hen's face is quite pale which also indicates that 
she has been laying heavily for quite a long time. She 
has all the other marks of a good layer that the previous 
hen had and the eyes of this hen are about the same. 
This hen however, has rougher plumage than the other. 
more broken, and the feathers are dryer, indicating that 
she has used up more fat from the skin. The oil on the 
feathers does not come from the oil sac as supposed, but 
it comes out through the skin and onto the feathers by 
capillary attraction through the oil ducts. 

This plumage is badly broken because it is dry ami 
because of heavy laying. There are no loose wing feath- 
ers at all, and no loose feathers or pin feathers in the 
body. This hen will probably be laying for a long time. 
She has three-finger capacity, is wider at the rear, and 
has a longer breastbone, same proportion of abdomen 
as the other hen but with a longer keel, which would 
indicate greater capacity than the last hen. 

Hen No. 5 

This hen laid long enough to take the color all out of 
her beak. Then she took a good vacation, and the yel- 
low returned to two-thirds of her beak. When she re- 
sumed laying again, she took the color out at base of 
beak, which resulted in leaving a yellow ring over a 
quarter of an inch wide near the middle. She presents 
an appearance often observed in farm flocks at this sea- 
son. Where a number of hens in the flock are like this 
it usually will be found that the farmer shut his hens 
up about the middle of May because they were digging 
up the corn, and that they all stopped laying because of 
the change of environment. Then, after about a month's 
vacation, they began laying again. 

A Couple of Plymouth Rocks 

Here is a Plymouth Rock hen that laid fairly well 
previous to her vacation as nearly all of the yellow 



went out of the front of her shanks, but at the present 
time the front is more yellow than the back, due to the 
fact that during vacation it comes into the front before 
it does the back. The thinness of the back of the shank 
and its medium-yellow color would indicate capacity for 
laying, but she fell down because of some unfavorable 
condition, such as being confined in a bare yard, or pos- 
sibly because of a poor ration. She shows a few pin 
feathers. 

Here is another Plymouth Rock that has taken a 
long vacation, evidently a month or two, but all of her 
feathers are tight, and her comb is hot, indicating that 
she is coming into laying again. My supposition is that 
this hen was broody and reared chickens, otherwise the 
feathers would be loose at this time. If she had stopped 
for the molt the comb would be shriveled and not hot and 
swelling. 

Scoring Nonpigmented Hens 

In the case of fowls that do not have yellow skin 
and shanks we can get some idea of their productiveness 
by their shape. If a hen is in laying condition it would 
be shown by the condition of the vent the same as in 
Leghorns; capacity would be shown by the shape and 
texture of the body, the muscles being soft, the skin 
soft, oily, and pliable. The shape of the eye also indi- 
cates a hen's ability to lay and her past performance will 
be indicated very plainly by the condition of the shanks, 
the poor layer having hard, plump shanks, the good lay- 
er having wedge-shaped shanks, very tapering to the rear, 
the fat having all been removed. Coarse scales are al- 
ways correlated with heavy, thick skin and therefore are 
found only on poor layers. 

The texture of the comb also is correlated with that 
of the .skin. If the surface of the comb is rough and 
coarse the skin will also be of the same character and 
these are found on poor layers. In a good layer, the 
comb, whether large or small, should be very smooth and 
waxy on the surface, indicating thin skin. 

Comments on Special Points in Culling 

When the hen takes a rest and the comb shrivels, a 
fine, white scale forms. If she starts up again, the comb, 
in the process of enlarging, cracks this scale which re- 
mains in patches on the comb for some time. So when 
you see a comb with a white surface broken in patches 
you know that she is coming back into laying again and 
this comb, of course, always will be warm at this stage. 

A short keel usually indicates poor production be- 
cause a short-keeled bird has not sufficient abdominal 
capacity to handle large quantities of feed and if she 
attempts to do it there is a tendency for her abdomen 
to bag down over the end of the breastbone, often making 
serious trouble. 

A good many of the keels of high producers ai'e crook- 
ed, due to a lack of knowledge in feeding hens. The min- 
eral matter is laid out of the bones and they are easily 
bent. We find many more crooked keels with high pro- 
ducers than with low producers. 

I almost never, in judging in the fall, throw out the 
bird that has taken a vacation unless she has some pin 
feathers, because it may have been a case of broodiness, 
or it may be due to improper feeding, or to .shutting 
them up. That would not be the hen's fault, and if there 
are no pin feathers I do not throw her out but try to 
bring her back into laying again. I always investigate 
the feeding, housing, and yarding methods so I know to 
what extent these are responsible for the performance of 
the hens. 

We begin culling work sometime in July and run up 
to September and October. Speaking in averages, I feel 
that on most commercial farms a hen that is laying on 
September 1st is worth carrying over as a layer but not 
as a breeder; and all hens still laying on October 1st, if 
of desirable type, should be marked and set aside for 
next season's breeding pen. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



INTKODrCTIOX ■» 

COLOli PLATKS 5-0-7-s 

DESCHII'TIOX OF COLOR I'LATIOS 9 

CHAHTEK 1 
DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN CFLLINO METHODS 10 

CHAPTER II 
IMPORTANCE OF HIGH AVEUACE EG(! PRODLCTION AND HOW SECURED U 

Prudu.-lion Standards for I'nuUrv __ -..■ Marcus A. CanHeld, Jr -16 

Importance of Culling - -- I'rol- ''amcs E. Rice.. IS 

Results of a Culling Cnmpaian in Connecticut - I'rof. W. V. Kirkpatrick. . 19 

CHAPTER III 
CULLING METHODS OUTLINED AND ILLUSTRATED 2» 

Details of Official Culling Outline Explained - Prof. 11. H. Lewis 2fi 

Culling Methods Illustrated with Leghorn Hens Prof. H. U. Lewis. - --33 

.ludKing fowls for Egg Prod\icti..n - Prof. H. R. Lewis.. 36 

CHAPTER IV 
How TO CULL PLYMOT-TH ROCKS. \VV.\NDOTTES, AND R. I. REDS 37 

CHAPTER V 
CULLING .METHODS APPLIED PO AXCoX.\S. CAMPINES, MINORC.VS ol! PI X(;T0NS, LAXGSHAXS. 

HRAHMAS, otc. *6 

CHAPTER VI 
CULLING BY GENERAL APPEARANCE, CONDUCT, AND MOLT 50 

The Wing -Molt -3* an Indication of Product iveness . Tranklane L. S-well... o-l 

CHAPTER MI 
CULLING BY EGG TYPE AND PH^ SICAL TESTS 57 

Experimenls in .\ccurale Metl.od ,,f Cullini; Prof. Ko.v H. Waite - Bl 

CHAPTER \II1 
THE VALUE OF PIGMENTATION TESTS IN CULLING . 65 

Observations in Loss of Pigment at Storrs Experiment Station. ... .\. 1'. Ulakeslec and D. E. Warner -.0.) 

Nature of Yellow Pigment in Egg Yolk, Skin, and Bod.v Fat of Fowls Prof. L. S. P.dmer -60 

The Physiological Relation Between Fecundit,v and the Natural Yellow Pigincntation 

of Certain Breeds of Foivls .. Profs. L. S, P.-dmcr and H. L. Kempster OS 

CHAPTER IX 
HOW EGG PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CYCLE AND RHYIILM, li ICSI" PKKloD BUOODINESS, 

WEIGHT, etc. . . : 'i^ 

observations on C.vcle and Hh.vtlim at the New .lersej' Experiment .Station I'rof. H. R. Lewis. --^2 

On the Rh.vthm of Egg Production . Dr- H. J.'. Goodale --73 

The Rcft Period in Relation to Egg Production ProL H. R. Lewis --^^ 

.Selecting Fowls b.v the "Patterson Index".; Dr. C. T. Patterson ---~'* 

.Selecting Heav.v La.vcrs b.v the Weight of Their Eggs Dr. Philip Hadley -*<0 

CHAPTER N 
HOW TO SELECT PROSPECTI\ E GOOD L.U ERS : 8f 

Prospoctivc Ciood Layers - — I''"' " '^' '•'■^vi:> 

CHAPTER XI 
1 .M l'( IR I'ANCE OF SELECTIVE FLOCK BREEDING ;« 

Constitutional Vigor and Its Relation to Production aed Growth ...Prof. II. R. Lewis.. . -''l* 

Pra-tical Stale- wide Poultry Project ..... -. Editor of H. P. J. -91 

CHAPTER XII 
CULI.IXG .METHODS 1'.VKT1CULARL\ .VD.VPTED TO THE FAR.M FLOCK 'm 

Remarkable Success of a J'arm Flork Culling Caiiipaipii . T- ^ T(>wnsU-> . ,.. 4 

CHAPTER XIII 
SY.STEMATIC CULLING FOR THi; COMMERCIAL FLOCK 97 

CHAPTER XIV 
PRACTICAL CULLING METHODS FOR BACI<-^ ARD FLOCKS 1<W 

CHAPTER X\ 
WllAI' CI'LLING MEANS TO THE FANCIER 103 

Yellow Pigmentati.ui in tlie showroom From Storrs (Conn.) Ex. Sta. Bui. No. Wi .. 105 

CHAPTER XVI 
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF EGG PRODUCTION 107 

.N'uiritive Requirements for Egg Production Prof. II. K. Le.vis 109 

CIl \PTER XVII 
B.\LANCING THE FLOCK, AND .MElTloDS OF INCRE.VSING FA1,L PltODUCTloX 112 

Keeping Egg Production at a High Level During Fall Months. . . Prof. J. C. Graham ill 

CHAPTER XVIII 
A DEMONSTRATION IN CULLlXtl IHi: POULlin FI.OCK mi 

.\ Culling Demonstration -- W. G. Krum. HG 



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